Deposit Deduction (Energy Bill)

Oliver97

Hi all,

I have for the last four months, been trying to recoup my deposit of £1950 from my landlord. It’s been an uphill battle, for the first three months, my emails would go un-responded to for literally weeks in some cases.

After communication broke down entirely I decided to send a letter of final demand as recommended on here, threatening legal action, that elicited an uncharacteristicly swift response.

After just four hours they got back, saying they need to take a £900 deduction for an unpaid building service charge (including hot water, communal power usage, concierge etc).

There was NO mention of this charge specifically in our AST tenancy agreement, no mention of it for exactly two years, no mention of it in the months after our tenancy in which they admit they’ve been living in the property, no mention during a period in which we needed the boiler replaced after one month of no heating or hot water during the beast from the east...

I’m basically incredibly dubious of this charge, it’s written in the landlords name and we (of course) forwarded on all addressed correspondence to them via the concierge.

What should I do? Am I liable? How can I get my deposit back quickly without having to go through slow mediation or ADR?

HampshireH

Have you lodged a dispute with ypur deposit scheme?

AdrianC

Why are you even asking this question? It's what the deposit protection scheme's dispute resolution is for.

You say "slow", but you've been banging your head on this brick wall for FOUR MONTHS. You could have had it in your pocket ages ago.

G_M

Why have you not claimed the deposit back from the scheme? Grief! For years tenants complained of landlords who held onto their deposits, so the government brought in leglislation to handle disputes over deposits.

Why not use that leglislation?

As for the deduction, what exactly does your tenancy agrement say about the building service charge and utilities?

It's pretty simple- either you owe it or you don't!

[Deleted User]

Raise a dispute with whichever scheme protects your deposit. Enclose your tenancy agreement, point out it does not say you are responsible for service charges, the LL is, and ask for your full deposit back.

Are you saying you are not sure this service charge/utility bill is authentic and the dates don't marry up with your residence either?

You could also call Shelter for advice.