Chasing Landlord for Deposit

chris1717

Hi all,

I hope you can help.

I was a short-hold tenant at a property for 18 months during 2015 & 2016. I paid a deposit to the letting agent and my tenancy agreement confirmed it was held in the TDS. Towards the end of my tenancy I received a letter from my landlord informing me not to send any more rent to this agent as he had not been passing it on to him.

Long story short: The property was passed to another agency and the original agent vanished apparently taking the landlords rent with him. I was advised by the new estate agent that if my deposit hadn't been registered (I've checked and it wasn't) that it had probably vanished with the original agent, being new to renting at the time and probably very naive I accepted this. I chased the agent for a short while but ran out of steam as he dissolved his business and that was that. I gave up on my deposit being returned.

I have now looked into this further and my tenancy agreement is between the landlord (who is named) and I.

This is where it gets complicated, at least to me anyway. First of all the property has now passed to another estate agent; this new agency and the previous one are refusing to give me any contact details for the Landlord, my tenancy agreement has his name but nothing else so i am struggling to locate him. I have a business e-mail for him but have had no success in getting a respone nor any other contact details - I was thinking of using land registry??

Secondly the landlord lives in Dublin so I am unsure if my legal rights differ as it isn't a member of the UK?

I have spoken to his current estate agency and explained the situation and they said if i send them all the information they will see if they can pass it on to the landlord? I hand delivered a letter to them for the landlords attention with all the details and stating I would commence legal proceedings without notice after 14 days if no reply - I have heard nothing so far (it's only been 3 days) but could the estate agent just ignore this as it has not been passed directly to the landlord?

I have done some reading but have come a bit stuck at the moment so any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Any advice is much appreciated.

Comms69

It's actually really simple. The agent is just an employee of your landlord.


Your contract is with him.


I would serve paper at whatever address is on your paperwork (the tenancy agreement), but I would supply copies to both the agent and the property you rented.


It is likely that once the landlord realises you aren't going away he will just pay you off.

theartfullodger

Also in
https://forums.landlordzone.co.uk/forum/residential-letting-questions/1023769-advice-on-chasing-ladlord-for-deposit

chris1717

Sorry I was asking different sites to obtain as much advice as possible before proceeding.

chris1717

Thanks. I will provide further letters to the addresses/people you suggested and see if that gets me anywhere.

Comms69

chris1717 wrote: »

Thanks. I will provide further letters to the addresses/people you suggested and see if that gets me anywhere.

wait the 11 days now that you've given them an opportunity.

chris1717

Ok thank you for that.

One more quick one - in the original letter i provided, it basically outlines my situation but I omitted supporting paperwork (Tenancy Agreement, bank statements etc. Should I hold fire on these or provide them and hope it strengthens my case and prompts them to act.

Chris.

Comms69

chris1717 wrote: »

Ok thank you for that.

One more quick one - in the original letter i provided, it basically outlines my situation but I omitted supporting paperwork (Tenancy Agreement, bank statements etc. Should I hold fire on these or provide them and hope it strengthens my case and prompts them to act.

Chris.

Your original letter should say the following:


Letter before action.


Dear Landlord,


I am owed £X000 (?) for my deposit in relation to my tenancy at <address> between <dates>.


Please accept this letter as notice of my intention to pursue this matter via the courts if the above sum is not paid with-in X days.


<contact details e.g. where to send cheque>


Regards


Chris

chris1717

Comms69 wrote: »

Your original letter should say the following:


Letter before action.


Dear Landlord,


I am owed £X000 (?) for my deposit in relation to my tenancy at <address> between <dates>.


Please accept this letter as notice of my intention to pursue this matter via the courts if the above sum is not paid with-in X days.


<contact details e.g. where to send cheque>


Regards


Chris

Yes that is more or less what my letter says. Short and simple.

Thanks Again.

theartfullodger

Use Shelter's process (already pointed out to you)
https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/tenancy_deposit_compensation_claims
& their draft letter as a basis... a bit down the page...

chris1717

Hi, I have finally been contacted by the landlord. He has emailed me, and I have put below the main points he has raised.

Chris,
I regret that the agent/person in question has not returned your deposit. This is the first time that it has been brought to my attention since you vacated the apartment. I am more than happy to support and assist you in this matter.

The agent was referred to me by an employee of a very reputable estate agent. I entrusted the new agent with my property (x 2), on the basis that it would be managed in a professional manner. However, it has become apparent that this was not the case. In fact, I have suffered significant losses due to the agent collecting rent for approx. 6 months without transferring these rents to my account. The same situation applies to a second property in Manchester that the agent was contracted to manage.

Despite many requests from me, I received no proof or paperwork from the letting agent regarding your tenancy agreement, I was given no contact details for you, no confirmation that a deposit was received from you, or registered with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, and no deposit was transferred to my account.
I have contacted the Trading Standards and the Fraud Squad regarding this and both organisations have opened cases for investigation.

I have received advice regarding taking legal action against the agent. As you may be aware, I am not resident in the UK, and it is therefore a difficult and costly exercise, so I will continue pursue the matter through the Trading Standards and Fraud Squad. I spoke with the Fraud Squad again today and I am expecting a call from the sergeant tomorrow with an update.

Have you made contact with *Agent* regarding your deposit? If so, what was his response?

My understanding is that *Agent* is still trading in the industry. Perhaps you are aware of where he is currently employed. As a UK resident, you are entitled to take a case against him through the Small Claims Court. I am happy to collaborate with you, and provide you with whatever supporting information that I have.

^^^ From above it is clear the landlord is passing the blame to the agent (which may well be the case as I do believe the agent was not operating correctly)

I would appreciate any advice on how to respond? I am sympathetic to the landlord as what he says is probably true but ultimately I want my deposit back and the agent was HIS not mine. I'm not really interested in even pursuing compensation for the way in which my deposit was handled I just want what I paid back.

Thanks,
Chris.