Problem with deposit

mimik1

Hi

I think I will have problems getting back my deposit. Here is my situation

I paid my rent monthly and my deposit to the middleman and then he paid to the landlord. We lived in this house together for a year and now he has vanished (he said he is going away for 2-3 months). So, right now I'm paying my rent to another "middleman" who pays to the landlord.

The problem is I decided that I'm going to move out of this house after 3 weeks and I wanted to cover my last 3 weeks rent with my deposit. Yesterday I had a chance to meet with a real landlord who is the owner of the house and he came knocking on my door and asking my rent. He said that I am not allowed to use my deposit as rent and he is not responsible to give my deposit back.

That guy who took my deposit, he doesn't answer his phone and nobody knows nothing about him, where is he, when is he coming back.. Landlord said he lived in this house for 8 years and he never had problems with him..

I live in rubbish house share, renting cheap room.. My deposit hasn't been protected and I don't have any tenancy agreement. I have only deposit receipt which he has given to me when I've moved in.

Landlord is asking me to pay my rent if I want to stay these last 3 weeks in the house.

What should I do in this situation?

flashg67

Did you get notified that the deposit was protected and where it was held (sounds unlikely tbh)

I'd say your landlord needs to pay the deposit back. He can't just evict you but you also need to give the proper notice in line with your tenancy agreement. I don't think the LL has to accept your deposit in lieu of rent though

Some info here https://www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection/overview

mimik1

My deposit was not protected and I don't have any tenancy agreement like I mentioned in my post. That "middleman" guy who was responsible paying our rents to the real landlord. He has vanished with my deposit.

ThePants999

What a bizarre situation.

I'm not that up to speed with exactly how house shares work legally, but it does sound like the landlord agrees with you that you're his tenant, not one of these middlemen. In this case, he's liable to you for the deposit. The fact that he took the deposit via an agent (which is effectively what the middleman is) is irrelevant.

However, he's right that you can't use the deposit in lieu of rent. You'll need to pay the rent, and then claim back the deposit, which sadly sounds like it might require the small claims court.

Pixie5740

Who are these middlemen you refer to? Did/do they live in the same property as you? Who gave you the receipt for your deposit?

It sounds as though your contract was with the middlemen making them your landlord and a lodger (excluded occupier) whilst their contract was with the owner making them tenants. Although that doesn't explain why the owner is now asking you for the rent directly because paying the rent to him would definitely create a contract between you and him making you a tenant.

The whole thing sounds like a mess. In your shoes I would probably just not pay the 3 weeks rent and leave.

aneary

I wouldn't pay the last three weeks.

Although you can't technically use your deposit to cover the rent, if the landlord was to take you to court for the unpaid rent you can counter with the fact that your deposit wasn't protected.

Also if the LL hasn't supplied a written agreement he is unlikely to bother to take you to court in my opinion.

mimik1

Pixie5740 wrote: »

Who are these middlemen you refer to? Did/do they live in the same property as you? Who gave you the receipt for your deposit?

It sounds as though your contract was with the middlemen making them your landlord and a lodger (excluded occupier) whilst their contract was with the owner making them tenants. Although that doesn't explain why the owner is now asking you for the rent directly because paying the rent to him would definitely create a contract between you and him making you a tenant.

The whole thing sounds like a mess. In your shoes I would probably just not pay the 3 weeks rent and leave.

The middlemen (agent) was responsible paying rent to the owner of the house. Yes, he DID live with us but he has disappeared, and he is the one who gave me the receipt.

I would have no problems paying my rent but like I said I'm moving out of the city and because that middlemen (agent) has disappeared, that means nobody will give my deposit back.

mimik1

aneary wrote: »

I wouldn't pay the last three weeks.

Although you can't technically use your deposit to cover the rent, if the landlord was to take you to court for the unpaid rent you can counter with the fact that your deposit wasn't protected.

Also if the LL hasn't supplied a written agreement he is unlikely to bother to take you to court in my opinion.

I would have no problem paying my rent, but because this middleman (agent) has disappeared, that means I'll have to chase him for my deposit, but nobody knows where he is.

Yes, my deposit wasn't protected and I never had a tenancy agreement. All I had is this receipt from middleman (agent) that he took my deposit, but I guess that receipt is piece of !!!! and doesn't prove anything.

Murrey

Thank you for replying here. Thats exactly what I will do next. I just wanted to find out first whether there is any ongoing problem or not.

These visitors leave comments on my site or contact me using the forms. I will reply them and ask them to contact the support.

saajan_12

Murrey wrote: »

Thank you for replying here. Thats exactly what I will do next. I just wanted to find out first whether there is any ongoing problem or not.

These visitors leave comments on my site or contact me using the forms. I will reply them and ask them to contact the support.

What site? What do you / your comment have to do with the OP? Looks like a poor attempt at increasing post count.

mimik1

Does anyone else have any advice?