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GloriousEuropa

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AdrianC

GloriousEuropa wrote: »

- moved into my new house end of Jan 2019, landlord inspected property, went crazy, pointed out crack on freezer drawer, stain from pot boiling over on hob, where I’d dropped the iron on the carpet in the living room by mistake but only short enough to cause a slight discolouration

All of which are fair enough deductions from a deposit. The dog is irrelevant.

- filed claim, landlord responded mentioning the dog, copy of receipt for brand new carpet,

He's entitled to a contribution for the carpet - reduced according to how much useful life it had left. So if a carpet of that quality is deemed to last ten years, and it was five years old when you moved out, he'd be entitled to half the replacement cost.

But, given that he failed in his legal duty to protect the deposit - it's very simple. You get it all back. He cannot deduct from an unprotected deposit. You can claim up to 3x the deposit amount.

He can then counter-claim from you for the damage you caused, should he wish.

[Deleted User]

GloriousEuropa wrote: »

Thanks for the reply.

So you don't think it's a little unsavoury to receive the house back with wear and tear and go through it with a microscope, after 3 1/2 years of tenancy?

Even the carpet wasn't really damaged. Where I dropped the iron, it was slightly discoloured, but you'd have to know it was there to see it.

Also, he's had his contribution for the carpet. He kept the entire £500, after claiming to send £63 back, but never did, or it never arrived to my account, which he didn't even address in his response to the claim.

But anyway, all I need to do is give the court the statement and evidence it's requesting, show up, and I'll inevitably win the case?

He has 6 years for which to make a claim for damage over and above fair wear and tear and the things you listed are damage not wear and tear. I'm not saying his counter claim will be successful but it might be.

The law says that the court must award you between 1 and 3 times the value of the deposit if the deposit was not protected. As long as you are able to convince the court the deposit was not protected, and it sounds as if you can, then you will win something.

Comms69

GloriousEuropa wrote: »

I’ll try and bullet point everything to be as brief as I can

- Rented a house with my mate from October 2015 to January 2019

- Deposit was never protected

- 6 months before end of tenancy my girlfriend would stay over with her dog, landlord discovered it, visited the property unannounced, inspected it, saw it was spotlessly clean and tidy, commented such, said happy for us to continue renting, especially since I was looking to buy a house

- moved into my new house end of Jan 2019, landlord inspected property, went crazy, pointed out crack on freezer drawer, stain from pot boiling over on hob, where I’d dropped the iron on the carpet in the living room by mistake but only short enough to cause a slight discolouration

- he blamed it all on the dog being there, I said okay let’s just split the deposit 50/50 to be fair rather than squabble as we were otherwise great tenants who paid on time every month for 3 1/2 years, he said no, sent back what he deemed was the remainder of £63 out of £500, except it never arrived in my bank account

- I tell him I never even got the £63 he deemed I deserved back, and that I know he didn’t protect the deposit so technically he broke the law before I even had a dog visit and dropped the iron, he was unmoved, so I sent a letter before action demanding all the deposit back or I was going to court over no DPS, he said he doesn’t like threats and go ahead

- filed claim, landlord responded mentioning the dog, copy of receipt for brand new carpet, I filled out the questionnaire to go the small claims track and to opt for mediation first as per the advice here on a former thread

- I now get given a date for court and asked to pay court fee, but also gives info on mediation service even though I already applied, apply to mediation and they acknowledge my request

- today mediation service replied saying that after several weeks they have not heard from the landlord on if he wishes to mediate or not, so I pay court fee today

So, I now have 9 days before the cut off for sending my witness statements and evidence. Can I have some advice please? - yes. STOP. What exactly are you claiming for?

With my claim form I already sent bank statements proving I paid the deposit, replies from all DPS services responding via email that they didn’t receive a deposit, screenshot printouts of our conversation where he admits he didn’t protect it (which he admitted again when replying to the court over my claim form), a witness statement from my friend, proof he signed for my letter before action delivery, etc. - If you are claiming the penalty. Then you've already gone wrong. The small claims track cannot deal with the penalty aspect. You can still continue and claim the original deposit.

Now, do I have to resend that all again to court and copies to the landlord? And on my witness statement, is it just another summary of what I already stated in my claim form, albeit with an addendum addressing the landlord’s points in his response to my claim form?

Thanks

Clarify exactly what you've claimed

[Deleted User]

GloriousEuropa wrote: »

The carpet was damage I'll admit.

A stain on the hob from use just isn't damage surely. Things discolour, fade, etc.

Where the law states I must be awarded 1-3x, does that include the original deposit itself?

And if I do "win", does my claim for claim fees and any court costs stipulated in my claim form automatically get added to what he will be ordered to pay?

A cracked freezer drawer and stains from a pot over boiling are not fair wear and tear. Those happened because you were careless.

No, the 1 to 3 times the value of the deposit does not include the deposit itself.

Comms69

GloriousEuropa wrote: »

I did claim the penalty and the original deposit. And yeah I opted for the small claims track as on the questionnaire it didn't really give me any other choice.

Your claim, if defended, will fail. You have applied to the wrong court in effect.


Either withdraw your claim, or limit it to the initial deposit. Thereafter claim the penalty separately.

[Deleted User]

GloriousEuropa wrote: »

I thought failing to protect a deposit was an immediate return of the deposit itself in addition to compensation.

What exactly have you submitted a claim for? The full deposit + compensation? £63 + compensation? Just the compensation?

The landlord can still make deductions from your deposit. Just because you're making a claim for non-protection it doesn't follow that you will get your full deposit back. In fact it is possible for the landlord to counter claim for damages over and above the amount of the deposit so that it eats into any compensation.

[Deleted User]

GloriousEuropa wrote: »

How? I used the correct N208 form and explained I am making a part 8 claim, etc. and in the questionnaire it basically said it feels the small claims track seems most suitable for this and do I agree or something, so I just ticked it.

And isn't there a 6 month limit on being able to claim the penalty? It was in January this year I left.

N208 is the correct form and as long as your claim is under £10,000 then the small claims track is the correct one. I'm not sure where you're getting 6 months from. The time limit under the Deregulation Act 2015 for tenancies that started after 2007 is 7 years from the end of the tenancy.

[Deleted User]

GloriousEuropa wrote: »

It is.


So the small claims track is correct? What about what the other guy is saying that it's wrong?

I don't know about the other guy. I just know there are three tracks; small claims, fast and multi. Small claims track is for claims under £10k, fast track between £10k and £25k and multi is over £25k.

Comms69

GloriousEuropa wrote: »

How? I used the correct N208 form and explained I am making a part 8 claim, etc. and in the questionnaire it basically said it feels the small claims track seems most suitable for this and do I agree or something, so I just ticked it.

And isn't there a 6 month limit on being able to claim the penalty? It was in January this year I left.

The limit is 6 years.

But I’m confused why this would be allocated to small claim track, it’s multi track whenever I’ve seen these.

Obviously without seeing the paperwork / claim I can’t say for sure.

[Deleted User]

GloriousEuropa wrote: »

Do they account for any and all possibly claims for money, compensation, etc.?

Also just read on another forum that the 1-3x is a penalty not compensation and they differ. Is this true? If so is the deposit protection "penalty" appropriately claimed with small claims track?

Thank you for your help btw. I appreciate this as it's panic stations at the minute.

Penalty, compensation, tomato, tomoto. It doesn't really matter what it is called for non legal folk such as ourselves. Whatever its name you are legally entitled to 1 to 3 times the value of the deposit. The legislation doesn't refer to it as either a penalty or compensation, it simply says...

The court must order the landlord to pay to the applicant a sum of money [not less than the amount of the deposit and not more than ] three times the amount of the deposit within the period of 14 days beginning with the date of the making of the order.

Source: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2004/34/part/6/chapter/4