Unprotected deposit - relationship breakdown

Banana23

Hi everyone,

Nearly 6 years ago my now estranged husband and I signed a joint tenancy agreement (AST). It was initially valid for 12 month and we didn’t renew the agreement so I assume it rolled over into a periodic tenancy.
18 months after signing the original agreement my estranged hb was forced to move out due to a domestic violence situation. I never signed a new contract as a sole tenant. I have been paying the whole amount of the rent ever since.
Originally i had paid a deposit of £2200 (i have proof in form of a bank transfer but there’s no mention of it in the contract). I had also paid £500 holding deposit (i have a receipt from landlord for that).
I’ve recently realised that the LL has never protected my deposit. The statue of limitation to sue him for not protecting the deposit is running out rather soon - I have been in the property for 6 years in two weeks time.
Now to my question- would I be able to sue the landlord by myself or would it have to be done by both of us? There would be a lot of difficulty for me to contact my estranged hb because of the previous abuse situation. I also did pay both of the deposits from my own money from the saw of my old house. But I guess I’m the eyes of the law it doesn’t matter who paid it as we were married at the time of paying the deposit).
Thanks in advance for your help.

Exodi

It is my understanding that as joint tenants you are both joint and severally liable.

This would mean you are entitled to personally make a claim for non-protection of your deposit in the same way your estranged husband could if he so desired.

I'd assume you're planning on moving out?

Comms69

Banana23 wrote: »

Hi everyone,

Nearly 6 years ago my now estranged husband and I signed a joint tenancy agreement (AST). It was initially valid for 12 month and we didn’t renew the agreement so I assume it rolled over into a periodic tenancy.
18 months after signing the original agreement my estranged hb was forced to move out due to a domestic violence situation. I never signed a new contract as a sole tenant. I have been paying the whole amount of the rent ever since.
Originally i had paid a deposit of £2200 (i have proof in form of a bank transfer but there’s no mention of it in the contract). I had also paid £500 holding deposit (i have a receipt from landlord for that).
I’ve recently realised that the LL has never protected my deposit. The statue of limitation to sue him for not protecting the deposit is running out rather soon - I have been in the property for 6 years in two weeks time. - No. It is not 6 years from date paid, it's 6 years from the end of the tenancy.
Now to my question- would I be able to sue the landlord by myself or would it have to be done by both of us? -either party can do this. There would be a lot of difficulty for me to contact my estranged hb because of the previous abuse situation. I also did pay both of the deposits from my own money from the saw of my old house. But I guess I’m the eyes of the law it doesn’t matter who paid it as we were married at the time of paying the deposit). -you are still married?
Thanks in advance for your help.

Are you moving out? Because this is likely to result in a s.21 notice.

Banana23

Thanks for your reply Exodi.

Yes i am planning to move into social housing as i cannot afford the extortionate rent anymore.
I’m self employed but have hardly any income so I can’t rent privately elsewhere. Of course it ll take a while to get into social housing and I’m extremely worried about the LL trying to evict me after I’ve taken him to court. (I know he can’t throw me out during court case).
I really just need to get a definite answer in terms of my being able to sue him on my own as time is running out fast.
I’ve tried to contact shelter but can’t get through.

Comms69

Banana23 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply Exodi.

Yes i am planning to move into social housing as i cannot afford the extortionate rent anymore. - have you been offered social housing?
I’m self employed but have hardly any income so I can’t rent privately elsewhere. Of course it ll take a while to get into social housing and I’m extremely worried about the LL trying to evict me after I’ve taken him to court. (I know he can’t throw me out during court case). - I suspect that is exactly what will happen.
I really just need to get a definite answer in terms of my being able to sue him on my own as time is running out fast.
I’ve tried to contact shelter but can’t get through.

As I said time is not running out. However being evicted may be the only way you have any chance of getting into social housing. and to be honest, that seems unlikely unless you have young children.


I would look at moving to a cheaper area or increasing your income.

Mojisola

Banana23 wrote: »

Yes i am planning to move into social housing as i cannot afford the extortionate rent anymore.

Of course it ll take a while to get into social housing and I’m extremely worried about the LL trying to evict me after I’ve taken him to court. (I know he can’t throw me out during court case).

I really just need to get a definite answer in terms of my being able to sue him on my own as time is running out fast.

Did you miss the bit in Comms69's post about the time limit?

The chances of a healthy single person getting social housing in most areas is almost nil - are things different where you live?

Banana23

Hi comms, thanks for your advice, that’s rather reassuring. So I could potentially sue him even a year after I’ve moved out and the tenancy has ended?
I know it sounds ridiculous that we are still married. Because of everything that has happend (2 drawn out court cases and my severe mental health problems) I wasn’t able to do anything. I haven’t dealt with any finance, any paperwork, or anything at all. I’m slowly getting better and am trying to sort my life out. I’ll apply for a divorce very shortly.

Banana23

I have four children, one under 16 and three young ones. If he evicts me I would have a quicker chance of getting into social housing but I obviously want to avoid the stress of being evicted and end up in some hostel with my kids.
I am on the social housing list now.
So, the best tactic is probably to wait till i have secured another rental property and to take him to court once that is sorted?

Hi Mojisola, I didn’t see comms comment as I was still writing my reply.

Comms69

Banana23 wrote: »

I have four children, one under 16 and three young ones. If he evicts me I would have a quicker chance of getting into social housing but I obviously want to avoid the stress of being evicted and end up in some hostel with my kids.
I am on the social housing list now.
So, the best tactic is probably to wait till i have secured another rental property and to take him to court once that is sorted?

Hi Mojisola, I didn’t see comms comment as I was still writing my reply.

To be honest the only sure fire way into social housing is to be evicted.


That may mean you end up in emergency accommodation for a short period, but whilst you have a legitimate tenancy the council are in no rush to help. There's people presenting homeless everyday

lisyloo

Do be aware that it will take months for your landlord to get a court date. Will vary by area but mine is about 4 months.
So we are talking a timescale of many months not a few weeks.
Doesn’t chance the facts but gives you more time to look for alternatives and move/sell your stuff.

Banana23

Ok thanks for everyone’s replies so far. I’ve just managed to do a web chat with shelter in the last few mins and here’s what I was advised:

“It's worth knowing that if you were to make a claim for compensation for the landlord failing to protect your deposit, in joint tenancies each of the tenants must be party to the application. However, if one tenant has disappeared, the other tenant(s) can apply to the court under CPR 19.3 for an order that the claim can proceed and the missing tenant is not required to be a party.
As you mentioned, a person has a time limit of 6 years in which to make a claim for compensation if a landlord/agent fails to comply with deposit protection legislation. It’s not clear when the time limit would begin, for example it could be from the end of a tenancy or it may be 6 years from when the breach occurred. It would be up to a court to decide on each situation.
Generally speaking, a claim must be brought within six years of the date that a 'cause of action' arises. This date is likely to be the expiry of the time limit for a landlord/agent to comply with the tenancy deposit protection rules, but it could also be argued that the time limit for a claim starts from the end of the tenancy, since that is the time at which the deposit becomes repayable.
In some circumstances, the six-year limit would be unfair if it dates from the expiry of the 30-day time limit for compliance, since the issue of deposit protection may only come to the tenant's attention when the tenancy ends. Also, a tenant may continue in occupation for longer than six years, knowing that the deposit was not protected, but not wanting to bring a claim in case of a retaliatory eviction.
The question of the correct limitation period has not been tested in the courts.”

Ok so it is not entirely set in stone when exactly when the statue of limitations expires. Tricky situation, because no one knows whether the judge would accept my argument for not claiming within the 6 year time frame.