Deposit Issue

Haris_Baig

Hello everyone.

I need a bit of advise on following:

Recently i left property after 2 years and 5 months, on my last day i have asked my landlady to visit to make sure we are leaving in her property nice and clean and also i have sent her my leaving notice via email also mentioned in that email that if you have any cleaning instructions then please provide but she hasn't come back to me, on last day her partner came to collect keys and when i asked him to check then he said i am not the boss but she is ?

so after a week she came back to me saying you left cooker dirty and also bathroom floor become red which i say light pinkish but i don't know why it changed color, it could be worn out ?

anyways, she then detected £ 150 out of my deposit and i am not happy about that. but i had to agree on 150 because i felt i have no option.

a week later someone advise me to read through my contract so i did. It had mentioned that my deposit will be protected through DPS so i rang DPS and they have no details and they asked me to contact other companies (my deposit and TDS ) but they all don't have any details which telling me that she hasn't protected my deposit and took a big chunk without my consent.

Now i have moved to London and not easy to drive 3.5 hours to get there. so i need to know where i am standing and what are the options available for me at this moment.

Many Thanks

Pixie5740

You did not have to agree to any deductions. You simply chose the path of least resistance.

However, you have a get out of jail free card. By law your landlord must protect your deposit. If you have checked DPS and other other two schemes and there is no record of it ever being protected (I assume you never received the prescribed information) you can sue your landlord for up to 3 times the amount of deposit as compensation.

Write to your landlord (ink, paper, stamp) getting proof of postage saying that you know your deposit wasn't protected and by law it should have been. Say that if your landlord agrees to return your £150 within 7 days you'll say no more about it.

If you don't get your money back then sue her.


See Deposits for more information.

xxxnardixxx

Hi i would want more than just the £150 she owes you. More likely she hasnt paid any tax on the rents income either. Send her before court action letter asking for the £150 plus compensation. She was happy to take ur money unfairly.

G_M

Was your tenancy in England / Wales? If yes, read this post here:

* Deposits: payment, protection and return

pumen

Haris_Baig wrote: »

Hello everyone.

I need a bit of advise on following:

Recently i left property after 2 years and 5 months, on my last day i have asked my landlady to visit to make sure we are leaving in her property nice and clean and also i have sent her my leaving notice via email also mentioned in that email that if you have any cleaning instructions then please provide but she hasn't come back to me, on last day her partner came to collect keys and when i asked him to check then he said i am not the boss but she is ?

so after a week she came back to me saying you left cooker dirty and also bathroom floor become red which i say light pinkish but i don't know why it changed color, it could be worn out ?

anyways, she then detected £ 150 out of my deposit and i am not happy about that. but i had to agree on 150 because i felt i have no option.

a week later someone advise me to read through my contract so i did. It had mentioned that my deposit will be protected through DPS so i rang DPS and they have no details and they asked me to contact other companies (my deposit and TDS ) but they all don't have any details which telling me that she hasn't protected my deposit and took a big chunk without my consent.

Now i have moved to London and not easy to drive 3.5 hours to get there. so i need to know where i am standing and what are the options available for me at this moment.

Many Thanks

You have a good card to play and teach a dishonest landlord. This is what I am doing now with dishonest landlord and agency.


do you have inventory check in report?


If the deposit is not registered with any of the three schemes, let her know that you will start legal action as she is in breach of the law.


Then go to court and get 3x deposit as compensation + your time/costs/stress, etc.

Haris_Baig

Thanks for all of your replies,


@ Pixie5740
Well i didnt agree to start with but i was forced into that because i thought there is less chance of getting all back, i said to her " is it fair to charge me for bathroom floor become red which i didnt know why, and she said yes" I have all the proof as a text messages.

It looks like she had planned it all long by not coming on last day etc.

If i choose to sue her for 3 times then what would be first step for me. also if i take this route then will i be spending on courts/lawyers visits etc

@xxxnardixxx:
yes i would agress with you. I said to her i needed money as i was moving to London with family but she showed no sympathy.

Thanks

macman

xxxnardixxx wrote: »

Hi i would want more than just the £150 she owes you. More likely she hasnt paid any tax on the rents income either. Send her before court action letter asking for the £150 plus compensation. She was happy to take ur money unfairly.

Compensation for what? OP has lost £150, if they recover that plus reasonable expenses then they have done very well, considering that they already agreed to the deduction due to the alleged damage.
The LL's tax return is no concern of the OP, and where you jump from failure to protect the deposit to non-declaration of rental income is anyone's guess.
Compensation is based upon quantifiable losses, and in this case the only quantifiable loss is £150.
OP, you don't need a solicitor to sue via the small claims process, you just need to complete the paperwork and pay the fee. But in this case, unless your LL is deranged, an LBA with the confirmation that you will sue based on the failure to protect the deposit will be all that is required to get your £150 back.

Guest101

macman wrote: »

Compensation for what? OP has lost £150, if they recover that plus reasonable expenses then they have done very well, considering that they already agreed to the deduction due to the alleged damage.
The LL's tax return is no concern of the OP, and where you jump from failure to protect the deposit to non-declaration of rental income is anyone's guess.
Compensation is based upon quantifiable losses, and in this case the only quantifiable loss is £150.

I think he/she meant punitive damages - which is what the failure to protect the deposit comes from.


Most people use compensation in the general term, rather than the quantifiable loss (though I agree your use is accurate)

Pixie5740

Courts award tenants between 1 and 3 times the deposit as compensation when the landlord fails to protect the deposit. It's just a useful big stick to hit landlords with when they don't play ball when it comes to returning the deposit.

I've found that just the threat of it is enough for a landlord who didn't protect my deposit to return my deposit quickly when they try to play silly buggers.

G_M

Haris_Baig wrote: »

If i choose to sue her for 3 times then what would be first step for me. also if i take this route then will i be spending on courts/lawyers visits etc

Was your tenancy in England / Wales? If yes, read this post here:

* Deposits: payment, protection and return

Haris_Baig

Thanks for all the replies,

how do i approach my landlady and ask for £150 return as i believe this has been unfairly charged. but on the other hand i somehow agreed (i felt i have no option just to get my remaining back to pay towards my new tenancy)

I also took some photos to prove.
Thanks