LL not returning deposit

Botman

Hi. My LL is causing issues with deposit and reference two days before I’m about to move out. My rent agreement ended on 31st March 2019. I asked the letting agency what if i want to stay a few days of April and they said you can pay the whole month’s rent and we will pay you balance+deposit when you move out. Now they’re saying that LL has said he will keep the deposit as he wants one month’s notice. All these convos were over whatsapp messages.
I’m not sure if letting agency is causing issues or LL. They have also delayed the reference and haven’t done it yet pending this disagreement which i came to know about today.
Any idea who’s in the right here and how to proceed? Thanks.

PS: i have sorted the reference for my next accomodation by sending them bank statements but i want my deposit back!
PPS: i was already on a rolling monthly rental as my FT contract had ended 3/4 months prior to that.

G_M

Botman wrote: »

.......My rent agreement ended on 31st March 2019.


PPS: i was already on a rolling monthly rental as my FT contract had ended 3/4 months prior to that.

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El8482

I know that the LL can keep the rental fee for a month if you staying for more than 3 days... sorry about your situation

Botman

Contract had ended on 31st March with adequate notice. After that i asked letting agency what if i want to stay for some days of April to which they said fine. They kept asking through april when would i move out. I always told them next week or in a few days. They didn’t bring up one month’s notice period then. When i gave them my confirmed final move out date, they brought it up to steal the deposit. The whole point of this arrangement was that i can move out whenever I want.

AlwaysWorking

Are you still living in the property? You need to check your lease - does it say you need to give one month's notice? You say that the letting agent 'kept asking through April when would i move out' so it sounds as though you didn't give them a confirmed date in advance and to be perfectly honest, you seem to have the idea that you can 'move out whenever' you want which isn't the case. A landlord needs to know when a tenant will be leaving in advance so that they can have a new tenant lined up. I think you are being unreasonable.

need_an_answer

So when did you actually move out?

What date?

Botman

I haven’t yet. I will be moving out tomorrow

Botman

@always working. That’s not the case at all. I had given my two months notice in January that i will be moving out by 31st March. I asked my LA what if i wanted to stay for few days of April to which they agreed that i pay the full month’s rent and they would return the rent of remaining days+deposit when i move out. Implicit agreement here being that i can move out even on a day’s notice. Otherwise what’s the point of agreeing to allowing me to stay a few days and agreeing to returning the rent of remaining days. Now they want one month’s notice which doesn’t make sense as they’re turning back on the verbal agreement they made.

G_M

Botman wrote: »

......I had given my two months notice in January that i will be moving out by 31st March. I asked my LA what if i wanted to stay for few days of April to which they agreed that i pay the full month’s rent and they would return the rent of remaining days+deposit when i move out. Implicit agreement here being that i can move out even on a day’s notice. Otherwise what’s the point of agreeing to allowing me to stay a few days and agreeing to returning the rent of remaining days. Now they want one month’s notice which doesn’t make sense as they’re turning back on the verbal agreement they made.

• So you were on a periodic tenancy.
• You served notice to expire on 31st March but failed to vacate.
• The landlord could therefore have started to charge you double rent (on a monthly periodic basis) for failing to move out, had he wished.
• You requested and received a very vague agreement, unconfirmed in writing, that you would vacate at a later date.
• You failed to provide a firm date, even when asked. Clearly a case of wanting both to eat your cake (yes, I know I'm obsessed!) and keep it for tomorrow too.

I believe both morally and legally you are on shaky ground and should accept that

• you failed to honour your notice
• you failed to provide an alternative end date
• you have got off lightly re the potential double rent charge
• you should pay the rent for the period 1st to 30th April

HampshireH

I don't blame the LL for expecting a month notice.

Its hardly been a few days of april its been most of it!

You moved the goal posts and took advantage of their good will.

They aren't stealing your deposit. You haven't followed the terms of your tenancy

need_an_answer

HampshireH wrote: »

I don't blame the LL for expecting a month notice.

Its hardly been a few days of april its been most of it!

You moved the goal posts and took advantage of their good will.

They aren't stealing your deposit. You haven't followed the terms of your tenancy

I couldn't have worded it better.


Total agreement.