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

marksoton

dagnyjuel wrote: »

I am in similar situation - my landlady was a hellish person for the last 3 years.

Um, so why the hell did you stay?!

Never understand this.

deFoix

Going to court would probably be a waste of time. To win any money you would probably have to prove financial losses incurred. A judge would probably take a dim view of the fact that you're trying to recover extra money after the majority of you deposit was repaid. The fact that your LL caused you some mental anguish would probably be of no concern.

Jerome_TFB

mrginge wrote: »

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

Fair point. But speaking with my previous landlords, it seems to be rare nowadays. Now I said we were great tenants, because I was being very helpful, offering to fix stuff when I didn't have to, saving her hundreds on engineers, gardeners etc (yes she wanted to pay for a gardener to prune some ivy, but offered to do it, I fixed her oven, saving her an engineer trip etc).
I just always try to be as helpful and nice as possible with my landlords. Because 1) it is not difficult, and 2) I like to treat people like I would like to be treated.

Alice_Walker wrote: »

Some may disagree with this statement.

Thanks for your contribution.
Seriously, why post if you have nothing to say? I thought the MSE forum was a place to get help from a friendly community...
As dagnyjuel posted above, I am clearly not the only one in this situation. And I feel like penalising rogue landlords is a service to the community (as should bad tenants be punished, don't get me wrong).
I wouldn't wish what I went through on anybody...

Boler1985 wrote: »

Going to court would probably be a waste of time. To win any money you would probably have to prove financial losses incurred. A judge would probably take a dim view of the fact that you're trying to recover extra money after the majority of you deposit was repaid. The fact that your LL caused you some mental anguish would probably be of no concern.

Well, not according to the law. When it comes to deposit protection, it clearly states the 30 days limit. So on paper, I am right. Martin Lewis :money: wrote about this in several of his articles... So since this topic is relevant to MSE, I wanted to see if other members went through with this and had advice / comments.

Pixie5740

Boler1985 wrote: »

Going to court would probably be a waste of time. To win any money you would probably have to prove financial losses incurred. A judge would probably take a dim view of the fact that you're trying to recover extra money after the majority of you deposit was repaid. The fact that your LL caused you some mental anguish would probably be of no concern.

This is a load of rubbish. The OP does not have to prove financial losses. The law is quite clear that tenants with an AST can claim compensation of 1 to 3 times the amount of their tenancy deposit if their landlord:

* doesn't protect your tenancy deposit in a tenancy deposit protection scheme
* doesn't give you certain information about the scheme being used
* takes too long to protect your deposit or give you prescribed information

So whether the judge takes a dim view of it is neither here nor there. As long as the OP files the paperwork correctly he will be awarded at least 1x his deposit.

The landlord could try and counterclaim for further damages over above what the ADR decided but I think the ADR's decision is final so the landlord would probably be on a hiding to nothing.

Pixie5740

Jerome_TFB wrote: »

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

Shelter have a step by step guide.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/tenancy_deposit_compensation_claims

Jerome_TFB

FBaby wrote: »

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!

She was already after our blood before we left the place.
And the ADR id have all of my communication with estates agents etc.
Anyway, the law suit would be about her not paying the deposit and providing me with info in the 30 days she was meant to.
I have an email from the Deposit Protection Scheme (which she used), confirming the dates they received the deposit, and the "fake" info she provided for our tenancy (which clash with what's written in the contract).
Her suing us for loss of rent is not so much of a concern for us, as we only requested visits to take place after work hours when we would be present. We allowed 98% of the visits. Also estates agents told me they never heard of a landlord who could pull that one off. The guy who did the inventory told me that she had no leg to stand on regarding the condition of the flat, and he has forwarded me communications he had with her, where she is trying to sway him to change his report...

marksoton wrote: »

Um, so why the hell did you stay?!
Never understand this.

Fair point. But sometimes it is costly and difficult to move out. In our case, we were out from the moment we could say "we're out"... But moving to a new place in London is costly.

anselld

Seems from your other replies you have already decided what to do.

However, my opinion FWIW is that it would be petty. You have won very nearly the outcome you wanted already. Move on and be happy.

Jerome_TFB

Pixie5740 wrote: »

The landlord could try and counterclaim for further damages over above what the ADR decided but I think the ADR's decision is final so the landlord would probably be on a hiding to nothing.

The ADR's decision is final, but if you want to dispute it, you need to file a court case especially for it.
Again, this does not worry me, as I have all the agressive communication she sent us, and proof that she lied regarding the "damage" (nothing beyond fair wear and tear to quote the inventory company) that happened.

Pixie5740 wrote: »

Shelter have a step by step guide.

Thanks Pixie!
I know of Shelter's guide. it has been my reading Bible in the last few months.
I tick all the boxes there.
However, taking someone to court is daunting. I just wanted to see if someone went through with it here to hear their story. I am convinced I am in the right.

Frankly, if the landlady would have not made our life hell, I would let it slide. I would not pursue this if she was a nice and honest person. My previous landlord never protected our deposit, but he was such a nice guy and a good landlord, I would never dream of taking him there!

marksoton

Jerome_TFB wrote: »

Fair point. But sometimes it is costly and difficult to move out. In our case, we were out from the moment we could say "we're out"... But moving to a new place in London is costly.

Completely agree. My query was to the other poster. 3 years is a long time to put up with that.

Jerome_TFB

anselld wrote: »

Seems from your other replies you have already decided what to do.

However, my opinion FWIW is that it would be petty. You have won very nearly the outcome you wanted already. Move on and be happy.

I do want to go ahead with it. I am now in the phase where we have moved to a new place, and our new landlord is ace. However, I have never taken anyone to court, and am anxious about it obviously.
You see it as petty, but I see it as helping future tenants to avoid falling into such horrible situation. And also teach this landlady a lesson. Just as Artful stated in his post above.