Late deposit protection of my deposit by my landlady... Small Claims Court?

Jerome_TFB

Dear All,

I would like some advice, in case some of you went through what I am considering doing.

Long story short, I move out of my previous flat, and our LL made our life hell in the last 6 weeks of our tenancy, making all sorts of requests (cleaning etc etc). We have been nothing but great tenants, paying rent on time, no damage to the property (confirmed by check out inventory done by same company and the check in). Our landlady tried to keep all of our deposit (£2.5K) for loss of rent as "we were difficult with visits of potential tenants" (we allowed 17 viewings in the last 6 weeks), and asked for £500 extra for cleaning. She was not happy with the standard, depsite us using professionals.
We went through the DPS ADR, and we got most of our deposit back, and the LL got a token £100 for "top up cleaning". Although I was well annoyed that I had to give that £100.

Anyway, during the last 6 weeks of our tenancy, I was looking at harassment, and stumbled upon the DPS protection law that states that the LL has to protect your deposit and send you info about the scheme they use within 30 days of receiving our deposit.
That is when I found out that :
- she never sent us any info (I only knew that the deposit was protected when I received the confirmation from DPS that our deposit was protected.
- she sent our deposit 32 days after receiving the money (the law doesn't state "working days")
- she lied on our tenancy start entering the date as 15/05 instead of 18/04. I assume this was an attempt to disguise the fact that she sent the money late.

Now, I am not a petty person, but since she actively made our life hell, and tried to keep our deposit in some nasty was, we sort of want blood. So I am seriously considering going to the small claims court to ask for compensation for her failure to protect our deposit on time or sending us any info about it.

I have found on shelter.org template letters etc, to send her prior going to court, but as she is a nutter, I expect that this will have to go to court. Should I go to court, I will ask for 3 times the value of the deposit (even if I do not expect getting this due to the 2 days).

Please note that this concerns a tenancy that started in April 2015 and ended in May 2016.

Does anyone has had a similar experience? What would you advise?

Thanks in advance,

agrinnall

You could have added an option to your poll:

"Should I have bothered with a pointless poll".

Mind you, pretty much everyone who creates one could have put the same thing, it's very rare to see one of any value. Most questions are unlikely to have a binary answer.

Jerome_TFB

I understand your point, I thought that a lighthearted poll would give me a quick insight if people do not want to write long answers.

Poll aside, I would be interested in your opinion on the true matter of my post (if you have relevant experience on the subject). If not, your reply was as valuable as my poll...

marksoton

Life really is too short....

Jerome_TFB

Hi Mark,
I don't know if life is too short. I see where you are coming from, but what this woman put myself and my girlfriend through was wrong and unjustified. I feel like I should stand up in the name of tenants, and make her "pay" for her bad behaviour as a landlady.
She is lucky enough to own a 2nd property (valued at about £700K), and is charging a good rent for it (about £1.9K a month). We felt that paying such a rent would grant us a good tenancy. How wrong were we.

She threatened us with court orders, then went through a lengthy dispute over deposit etc for no reason, except that she was upset we left after 1 year in the property. And I see her as a rogue landlord, and she should be penalised for this.
And the stress, and financial loss generated on our side make me feel that if I can get compensation for these 2 days missed, well, it would be a comfort for my girlfriend and I, and a lesson for her.

dagnyjuel

I am in similar situation - my landlady was a hellish person for the last 3 years. Came around unexpected, was rude to me and my neighbours. Last Saturday I went through 2 hours long check out, where she started to pick on small things which really should count as wear and tear after 3 years of renting: the cooker is not as shiny as it was, mattress protector is not as clean (it was washed and looked after but I got it 3 years ago!!) etc. The clerk from the agency was patronising and told us that 'it is possible to get the deposit back in full - as people who lived here previously did and we failed as tenants....'. So I already know they will not get the deposit in full to us. I have made a complaint to the agency and waiting for their reply. In the meantime - I have learnt about the rule of 30 days and realised my landlady paid it couple of days too late too. Could I make a claim out of this? Many thanks!!!

Jerome_TFB

I am glad that I am not the only one in this situation. Any help would be great!

theartfullodger

Go to court: You will almost certainly win at least 1x.

She might learn something & become a better landlord.

If so, you both win!

Cheers!

Artful (Landlord...)

FBaby

Sue her and see where it takes you. She will most likely counter sue with arguments the ADR missed some evidence. You'll most likely win but then she might be after blood too. Your choice!

mrginge

Paying rent on time and not doing damage doesn't make you great tenants.
It just makes you tenants.

Alice_Walker

Jerome_TFB wrote: »

Now, I am not a petty person

Some may disagree with this statement.