Rental Deposit Return

kayh800

Any advice gratefully received...
My family and I have lived in our rented house for 14 years. In April 2018 my landlord (Mr. S) sold the house to a new landlord (Mr. , and from this date we have paid rent to Mr B.
Mr B did not receive our rental deposit from Mr S, nor was it returned to us. I have left the two of them to sort it out. However the deposit still has not been returned, 2 years on!
Money is now so tight, so I have spent the last 4 weeks in contact with the old landlord, asking for him to return it.  He says he needs to check his paperwork, will not give me the name of the deposit scheme it was held with (I assume he didn’t use one) and now won’t reply to any correspondence.
New landlord supports me in my view is needs returning ASAP to help our family. He has been through all his records and it was never received, either as part of the house sale or a cheque/bank transfer.
How do I get my deposit back? It is £700 which is a life line to us at the moment. Kay 

Comms69

There's no reason for the deposit to be returned. You are still there. 

steampowered

Shouldn't Mr Seller pass the deposit to Mr Buyer? Rather than returning the deposit to you?

You could check with the deposit protection companies to see if they have your deposit: https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/check_if_your_tenancy_deposit_is_protected.

If your deposit wasn't protected, it may be that you could sue your former landlord for return of the deposit plus a penalty of 1-3x the deposit amount.

theartfullodger

Regardless of new landlord (NB see below) receiving deposit or not , he is deemed to have received it in law - I forget the law.  It's in shelter legal -search on change of landlord.

Regardless of change of ownership you are not entitled to return of deposit anyway.

NB.  New owner.  Unless they or their solicitor served you with notice(s) compliant with s48 & S3 then no rent is due (s48) and possible criminal record and fines (S3).  S48 requires an address in England or Wales for you to serve notice on Landlord, S3 requires landlord's ACTUAL home address .  So if they live say in Scotland two addresses.

Comms69

steampowered said:

Shouldn't Mr Seller pass the deposit to Mr Buyer? Rather than returning the deposit to you?

You could check with the deposit protection companies to see if they have your deposit: https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/check_if_your_tenancy_deposit_is_protected.

If your deposit wasn't protected, it may be that you could sue your former landlord for return of the deposit plus a penalty of 1-3x the deposit amount.

I believe liability has now passed to current landlord in terms of court action. 

greatcrested

1) if you are still there the tenancy has not ended and the landlord should retain the deposit, not return it.

2) if you have left and the tenancy has ended, the current (new) landlord should return it.

3) if the new owner/landlord failed to get the deposit factored into the purchase price, or the deposit registration transferred into his name, that was his mistake. He may be able toobtain it from the seller/old landlord (though I doubt it after all this time), but that is not your concern or problem

4) at the time of the sale, were you informed, in writing, as per the landlord and tenant Act 1985 section 3, of the relevant details? If not: note:

3 Duty to inform tenant of assignment of landlord’s interest.

(1)If the interest of the landlord under a tenancy of premises which consist of or include a dwelling is assigned, the new landlord shall give notice in writing of the assignment, and of his name and address, to the tenant not later than the next day on which rent is payable under the tenancy or, if that is within two months of the assignment, the end of that period of two months.

(2).....

(3)A person who is the new landlord under a tenancy falling within subsection (1) and who fails, without reasonable excuse to give the notice required by that subsection, commits a summary offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.

[F1(3A)The person who was the landlord under the tenancy immediately before the assignment (“the old landlord”) shall be liable to the tenant in respect of any breach of any covenant, condition or agreement under the tenancy occurring before the end of the relevant period in like manner as if the interest assigned were still vested in him; and where the new landlord is also liable to the tenant in respect of any such breach occurring within that period, he and the old landlord shall be jointly and severally liable in respect of it.

(3B)In subsection (3A) “the relevant period” means the period beginning with the date of the assignment and ending with the date when—

(a)notice in writing of the assignment, and of the new landlord’s name and address, is given to the tenant by the new landlord (whether in accordance with subsection (1) or not), or

(b)notice in writing of the assignment, and of the new landlord’s name and last-known address, is given to the tenant by the old landlord,

whichever happens first.]

So the old LL may be liable to you if the deposit is not returned at the end of the tenancy if you were not properly notified of the transfer.

saajan_12

kayh800 said:

Any advice gratefully received...
My family and I have lived in our rented house for 14 years. In April 2018 my landlord (Mr. S) sold the house to a new landlord (Mr. , and from this date we have paid rent to Mr B.
Mr B did not receive our rental deposit from Mr S, nor was it returned to us. I have left the two of them to sort it out. However the deposit still has not been returned, 2 years on!
Money is now so tight, so I have spent the last 4 weeks in contact with the old landlord, asking for him to return it.  He says he needs to check his paperwork, will not give me the name of the deposit scheme it was held with (I assume he didn’t use one) and now won’t reply to any correspondence.
New landlord supports me in my view is needs returning ASAP to help our family. He has been through all his records and it was never received, either as part of the house sale or a cheque/bank transfer.
How do I get my deposit back? It is £700 which is a life line to us at the moment. Kay 

When a house is sold, the new owner steps into the shoes of the old landlord. The new landlord is responsible for all repairs, deposit protection / return etc. The transfer of any rent / deposit should have been done between them as part of the sale, but its nothing to do with you. 

If you still live there- then the tenancy is still place and you aren't due a deposit back. If your current LL wants to give you a gift / loan / early deposit return, thats up to them. 

If you have moved out and the tenancy has ended- then the new landlord is responsbile for returning your deposit. If he fails, you can raise a dispute through the protection scheme. If it wasn't protected, you can claim the deposit + penalty through (separate) courts, from the NEW landlord. Nothing to do with the old one. 

greatcrested

saajan_12 said:

kayh800 said:

Any advice gratefully received...
My family and I have lived in our rented house for 14 years. In April 2018 my landlord (Mr. S) sold the house to a new landlord (Mr. , and from this date we have paid rent to Mr B.
Mr B did not receive our rental deposit from Mr S, nor was it returned to us. I have left the two of them to sort it out. However the deposit still has not been returned, 2 years on!
Money is now so tight, so I have spent the last 4 weeks in contact with the old landlord, asking for him to return it.  He says he needs to check his paperwork, will not give me the name of the deposit scheme it was held with (I assume he didn’t use one) and now won’t reply to any correspondence.
New landlord supports me in my view is needs returning ASAP to help our family. He has been through all his records and it was never received, either as part of the house sale or a cheque/bank transfer.
How do I get my deposit back? It is £700 which is a life line to us at the moment. Kay 

When a house is sold, the new owner steps into the shoes of the old landlord. The new landlord is responsible for all repairs, deposit protection / return etc. The transfer of any rent / deposit should have been done between them as part of the sale, but its nothing to do with you. 

If you still live there- then the tenancy is still place and you aren't due a deposit back. If your current LL wants to give you a gift / loan / early deposit return, thats up to them. 

If you have moved out and the tenancy has ended- then the new landlord is responsbile for returning your deposit. If he fails, you can raise a dispute through the protection scheme. If it wasn't protected, you can claim the deposit + penalty through (separate) courts, from the NEW landlord. Nothing to do with the old one. 

All true, though if the tenant was not informed of the assignment in writing as per the landlord and tenant Act 1985 Act, then the old LL could still be liable under S3a & b .

need_to_know_3

Not sure about this one, any advice appreciated.

Our landlord has released our deposit back to us, but has since sent an email stating that there were things they discovered after they started to clean the property before handing it to an agent for re-renting. I would like to respond in some way, as our relationship during the tenancy was amicable, but I'm not sure if they can try to sue us in small claims court. Can they try and get some money back for any additional cleaning jobs that they say we didn't do?

greatcrested

Yes. They have 6 years to make a claim.

Of course they have to have evidence of whatever damage or dirt they are claiming for.

What are they claiming for and what evidece have they provided?

As a general point, no reply is generally the best response. If you feel you must (and assuming you don't accept liability) keep it to a VERY brief denial without trying to justify or explain.

dimbo61

So it comes down to evidence.
Did the Landlords provide you with a check in inventory with photos to show the condition of the property when you moved in.
After 14 years any Landlord should thank you for being fantastic tenants and paying the rent every month ( I hope you did )
They should them expect and have saved the funds to completely refurbished the property.
New bathroom, kitchen, electrics and decorating.
That way when they market the property they will get top rent and know the property is safe, modern and up-to-date with current regulations and laws.
Mains wired interlinked smoke alarms, safe electrics with EICR, GSC, EPC.
Maybe improved insulation, double glazing etc