Unresolved dispute with landlord, what happens with the deposit?

gtilbury

I moved out of a rented property in August 2015. Despite the landlord/owner seeming to be happy enough when he checked me out of the property and walked round with me, he later proposed that he should keep my entire £4900 deposit as he claimed he spent around £10,000 carrying out repairs at the end of my tenancy.

I of course disagreed with the vast majority of the list he gave me because it was grossly exaggerated and/or fabricated. There was only a couple of things I agreed to.

I exchanged a number of emails with the landlord and as we weren't able to reach an agreement he said he was going to refer he matter to his solicitor and they would be in touch. That was at the end of 2015 and even though I've chased him up a few times I haven't heard anything.

The deposit money is still being held by the letting agent that collected the rent payments and protected the deposit. I asked them what will happen with the money since myself and the landlord haven't been able to reach an agreement and I haven't heard from his solicitor and they advised me that after 6 years he automatically has the right to the money.

I want to find out if this is true? And to see if anyone has any advice for me going forward please?

Please note, the 'mydeposit' deposit protection scheme were unable to help me as at the end of my tenancy I had one months rent arrears and therefore they wouldn't consider my case so that's not/was not an option.

Many thanks.

Pixie5740

If MyDeposits won't let you use their ADR service then take your former landlord to small claims court.

Have you at least tried to claim your deposit back via MyDeposits?

glentoran99

gtilbury wrote: »

I moved out of a rented property in August 2015. Despite the landlord/owner seeming to be happy enough when he checked me out of the property and walked round with me, he later proposed that he should keep my entire £4900 deposit as he claimed he spent around £10,000 carrying out repairs at the end of my tenancy.

I of course disagreed with the vast majority of the list he gave me because it was grossly exaggerated and/or fabricated. There was only a couple of things I agreed to.

I exchanged a number of emails with the landlord and as we weren't able to reach an agreement he said he was going to refer he matter to his solicitor and they would be in touch. That was at the end of 2015 and even though I've chased him up a few times I haven't heard anything.

The deposit money is still being held by the letting agent that collected the rent payments and protected the deposit. I asked them what will happen with the money since myself and the landlord haven't been able to reach an agreement and I haven't heard from his solicitor and they advised me that after 6 years he automatically has the right to the money.

I want to find out if this is true? And to see if anyone has any advice for me going forward please?

Please note, the 'mydeposit' deposit protection scheme were unable to help me as at the end of my tenancy I had one months rent arrears and therefore they wouldn't consider my case so that's not/was not an option.

Many thanks.

This doesn't sound correct at all and I can see nothing on their site that says this

fairy_lights

What damage is the landlord claiming was done? do you have photos showing the state of the property when you left? 10k is a hell of a lot of money, I'm struggling to imagine how anyone could have done that much damage.

gtilbury

I contacted them when I knew there was a dispute but as I said they were unable to help resolve it. I haven't been in touch since.

gtilbury

Luckily I have a catalogue of photos. The landlord has his own photos too.
It is a lot of money although he tried to say if I accepted he could keep the whole amount he wouldn't pursue me for anymore money but if I didn't accept that he'd take action for the full £10k.

theartfullodger

gtilbury wrote: »

I moved out of a rented property in August 2015. ....

Given it is now some 17months since you moved out I would expect the deposit scheme has allowed the landlord to claim all the deposit: Assuming you failed to do anything in a sensible timescale.

Or have I misunderstood: (Again!)

AdrianC

£5k deposit? One month's rent owed?

How much was the rent?

bouicca21

What damage? What evidence? What di you admit though? Was the deposit protected?

Why have you left it so long?

G_M

* how much was the deposit?
* how much rent did you owe?
* did you agree the rent arrears, and for the deposit to be used to cover the arrears?
* how much outstanding deposit was there (if any) after deduction for the rent arrears?
* Did you make a single person claim from the deposit scheme for the outstanding amount? Why not?
* have you started legal proceedings for the outstanding amount of the deposit owed to you? Why not?

Any sane person would have taken action at least 12 months ago - why have you done nothing for 16 months???!!!!!

silvercar

glentoran99 wrote: »

This doesn't sound correct at all and I can see nothing on their site that says this

Look at the FAQ question 13:

You cannot raise a dispute over the deposit until you have resolved any issues over missing rent payments or calculating rent. You must fulfil your contractual obligations under the terms of your AST.

gtilbury wrote:

Please note, the 'mydeposit' deposit protection scheme were unable to help me as at the end of my tenancy I had one months rent arrears and therefore they wouldn't consider my case so that's not/was not an option.

The correct thing would have been to settle the rent arrears then used their scheme.