Deposit dispute - landlord is now claiming rent arrears

princeofpounds

nyermen said:

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?)

Yes, no-one is disputing that. The issue appears to be one of evidence.

[Deleted User]

what evidence is required though?  Surely you just reply to deposit scheme with:

the property has been tenanted since 7th December.  As there is another tenant in the property I deemed the early surrender request to be accepted. If the landlord did not accept early surrender then they should not have put another party in the property they claim is still mine.   I dispute the £200 fee as unreasonable without proof of cost incurred by the landlord as a direct result of the early surrender. 

Is there much more required than just the facts? 

Rachlou_25

This sounds awful, I’m sorry you’re going through this.  Like the other posters have said, it should be fairly easy to prove that you moved out and someone else took your place (email correspondence?).  I imagine not being able to prove you gave your notice would be trumped by someone else physically taking your place (the landlord couldn’t have allowed this without approving it first).

I rented out my old house and the fees for getting a new tenant in were pretty high, £400 which I was liable for.  If one of my tenants left early, they would have to cover this plus the rent owed until someone else was found.  

I would accept the £200 deduction which is probably fair and push back on the rent in arrears, the landlord has a right to be in the same position as they were before you left but not to profit from you paying rent as well as the new tenant.  

princeofpounds

Deleted_User said:

Is there much more required than just the facts? 

Possibly not. But evidence will massively help the adjudicator. 

The burden of proof rests on the landlord in the first instance, but as the OP concedes they departed before the end of their tenancy, and there is no argument about the original length of tenure, the landlord can easily prove that arrears are a likely possibility. 

The adjudicators can ask for further evidence but they aren't police with investigatory powers. 

Robbo66

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.

But this isn't a contract amendment, by vacating early the OP can be charged the Landlords relet cost which in this instance is £200

badgermog

Thank you for all the input given here. I will be sending my response to the DPS resolution process later, there doesn't seem to be much I can put other than facts and enclose all the email exchanges between myself and the landlord.

Thanks again!