Deposit dispute - landlord is now claiming rent arrears

badgermog

My situation: I entered into a 6 month AST starting 6th Sep 2020. I had to unexpectedly leave the area in early Oct due to a family issue. I notified my landlord that I could no longer stay, but that I would keep paying the rent until I had found him another tenant if he was ok with replacing me with someone else. He agreed.

The replacement tenant moved in on 7th Dec with his own 6 month AST. One month after this my deposit was returned, minus a day's rent pro rata (fine) and minus a £200 admin fee - which I am challenging via the deposit protection scheme. 

Today I received an email from the deposit protection scheme with the following:

"The basis of the agent’s/landlord’s claims is:

“ Rent Arrears - £1409.38 and Other - £200.00 –

1. Tenant is on fixed term AST ending on the 6th of March 2021. His rent has been paid until Dec 6th at the rate of £475pcm. Outstanding rent for the period of 07/12/2020 – 05/03/2021 amounts to £1409.38.

2. As per Section B paragraph 25 of the contract any alterations are liable to a fee of £200.00.

Tenant has found someone to take over his lease and as per the AST he is liable to a fee of £200.00. He now refuses to pay this fee and consequently we are seeing his AST as valid until the end of the fixed term period and we are seeking unpaid rent for the outstanding period. No notice has been served by the Tenant.” "

Where do I stand on this? My old landlord is now trying to come after me for rent arrears for the period 7th Dec 2020 to 5th Mar 2021. Is this legal? I thought we had an agreement that my tenancy was being replaced, but I don't know if a couple of emails between us will now hold up? I was only disputing the £200 charge in the first place because he made no mention of it until it came time to return my deposit, I don't think the clause on the contract is even legal (doesn't the Tenancy Fees Act 2019 prohibit anything more than £50 for this sort of thing?), and also the fact that I was never served any Prescribed Information regarding my deposit protection - so I thought it was a bit cheeky of him to go and deduct me £200 for not a lot (given that I found the new tenant).

How best do I respond to the DPS with my side of the story?

es5595

Is this a HMO, or a stand-alone flat/house? Surely if there is someone else living there, you simply need to state that (and if this person is amenable and will provide a copy of their tenancy, include that as evidence). 

anselld

You say a new tenant moved in 7th Dec.  That fact alone, assuming you can prove it, confirms that there was an agreement either to surrender or to assign the tenancy.
You are correct that contract alteration fees are limited to £50 by the tenant fees act.
Just provide DPS with the facts, they should be able to reach the correct conclusion, ie that you owe at most £50.

[Deleted User]

if you didnt serve notice and the landlord is stating that your AST is stil valid then isn't it technically still your property?  If someone else has moved in then surely there is a conflict there

dimbo61

If you have emails and any other proof that the LL allowed early surrender of the AST and a new tenant was found please supply this evidence to the DPS people.
Do you live nearby ? Could you visit the property and speak to the new tenant ?
Let the DPS decide 

moneysavinghero

The £200 probably includes £50 for the actual change of contract and £150 to cover the costs incurred like referencing fees.

Just offer to pay the £200 then the contract will be ended and you will not be contracted to pay any more.

But if they did not give you the prescribed info then you can claim compensation. You would probably be awarded 1 x deposit. If you really wanted to claim this it would cover the £200 and a few quid in your back pocket too.

princeofpounds

The tenancy is terminated. You surrendered it and the landlord accepted surrender. There should be no argument about this; not only did the landlord take the keys back, they have already let the property out to a new tenant. You tenant cannot possibly be in force by this stage. The landlord's actions are entirely incompatible with their stance that the tenancy is continuing.

This should all be pretty evident to the DPS as long as you explain it clearly. Any supporting evidence you can gather will be helpful. The fact that there is a new tenant is a big thing. But even any discussions where the landlord or their agent is e.g. arranging recovery of the keys etc. or otherwise implying they are accepting possession of the property will be helpful. 

The fee is invalid, as already stated. Just reference the tenant fees act.

Furthermore, if you were not provided with the PI on the deposit then you can consider suing the landlord for the penalty. Not something I would have bothered with if they had let you go without trouble, but something that would be tempting given their subsequent behaviour.

badgermog

Thanks for the responses. To answer the questions raised above:
It's an HMO, I was renting one of four rooms there.
I didn't ever have any correspondence where I stated "I am serving notice" or something similar, which is why I'm worried. I assumed it was a surrender of tenancy if the landlord agreed to let someone that I find live there before my tenancy expired.
What supporting evidence can I show to prove my side of the story? I'm not in a position to visit the property. I hope that an email exchange is enough here (which is to the effect of "I have to move out, is it ok if I find someone else to take my place and pay rent until then?" Answer: "yes").

greatcrested

* have you anythig toproe the LL ageed to allow you to Surrender the tenancy?

* have you anything to prove the date the new tenat moved in?

Provide those to the scheme arbitrators to prove you do not owe any rent.

Refer the arbitrators to the Tenant Fees Act 2019. This limits admin fees to £50 in most cases. The guidance to agents here states:

Q. If a tenant has found a suitable replacement tenant, can I still charge more than £50 for a change of sharer fee?

It is unlikely that you could justify charging a fee above £50 in this circumstance. The costs involved in referencing the replacement tenant, re-issuing the tenancy agreement and protecting the tenancy deposit should be small. You could also ask the tenant to obtain such a reference voluntarily (although you cannot require a tenant to do this as a condition of granting them a tenancy) to further reduce the costs incurred. There are several third-party organisations which will carry out professional referencing checks at a small cost – for example, a full tenant reference check can cost up to £30. You should be able to demonstrate to a tenant that any fee charged above £50 is reasonable and provide evidence of your costs. Any costs that are not reasonable are a prohibited payment.

saajan_12

anselld said:

You say a new tenant moved in 7th Dec.  That fact alone, assuming you can prove it, confirms that there was an agreement either to surrender or to assign the tenancy.
You are correct that contract alteration fees are limited to £50 by the tenant fees act.
Just provide DPS with the facts, they should be able to reach the correct conclusion, ie that you owe at most £50.

Not exactly. If actual costs can be proved, then these can be charged, even if they exceed the £50. 

greatcrested said:

Refer the arbitrators to the Tenant Fees Act 2019. This limits admin fees to £50 in most cases. The guidance to agents here states:

Q. If a tenant has found a suitable replacement tenant, can I still charge more than £50 for a change of sharer fee?

It is unlikely that you could justify charging a fee above £50 in this circumstance. The costs involved in referencing the replacement tenant, re-issuing the tenancy agreement and protecting the tenancy deposit should be small. You could also ask the tenant to obtain such a reference voluntarily (although you cannot require a tenant to do this as a condition of granting them a tenancy) to further reduce the costs incurred. There are several third-party organisations which will carry out professional referencing checks at a small cost – for example, a full tenant reference check can cost up to £30. You should be able to demonstrate to a tenant that any fee charged above £50 is reasonable and provide evidence of your costs. Any costs that are not reasonable are a prohibited payment.

Never really understood that comment in the guidance, when actual costs could include 
* Protecting deposit £26, for insurance based
* Referencing £20 per person (for one room, one tenant is likely, but the guidance is also for larger tenancies)
* Additional check in inventory & check out, preparing reports, etc - easily a couple of hours work. 
* Requesting documents & meeting new tenant to sign tenancy agreement - 30 min

Sure, you could DIY that and value your time at £0, put the deposit in a custodial scheme etc. But if you run your business by paying for services, and the £50 expected fee suggests some level of paying for this work, then I don't see why all the above relevant and reasonable costs couldn't be charged.. with an expected total cost easily £1-200. 

The alternative is a LL refusing an early termination outright, over a hundred quid. 

nyermen

Erm assuming the new party is / was there, isn't the landlord therefore claiming rent from two people?  Surely double letting a property has some term in law (fraud?)