Landlord Refuses to Refund Deposit

propertyrental

penners324 said:

A reply to the Landlord through the Estate Agent.

On review of the information received at the start of the tenancy, it's apparent the proscribed information about the DPS used was not provided.

I therefore claim 3x the original deposit from the landlord payable by return.

If this is nor sent I shall refer this matter to the small claims court 

1) send direct to the LL at the  address provided for him/her 'for the serving of notices'. This may or may nor be /o the agent so check. Also and separately send a copy to the agent.

2) You don't claim the penalty from the LL. You claim it via the courts, so this should be a 'Letter Before Action'. The courts are unlikely to award the full 3 times penalty if the deposit was protected but the PI not provided. May 1 or 2 times the deposit would be awarded.
However you could say that provided you receive your deposit back within 7 days you will take no further action. Put 'without prejudice' on the letter.

3) make sure you send to the proper address(es).

Sleepysophie

breaking_free said:

Sleepysophie said:

The carpets were brand new when she moved in and there was an area in the bedroom where she had dropped some bronzing pearls which I cleaned with carpet cleaner to the best of my ability. 
The house was cleaned by myself and I was pretty proud of it The property was 45 minutes away from where I lived and I went every day in the week she was moving out to make sure it was left in a good condition.

I'm wondering why you did so much cleaning for your daughter. 

Because she has an autoimmune condition and a full time job. I was not working at the time and if I was a LL I would expect to see the property in the condition it was given to me in. She did do lots of things herself too I just like to "deep clean". 

Sleepysophie

_Penny_Dreadful said:

Lavendyr said:

macman said:

It's normal to check that the deposit has been registered with one of the schemes as soon as the tenancy has started. Not after it has ended. There are only 3, so this can be done in minutes online.
Even if she didn't know, she had 3 months from end of tenancy to find out, but failed to pursue it for a year. Yes, the EA  could have been more helpful, but they act for the LL, not the tenant, so ultimately it's the tenant's responsibility to manage their own deposit.
If she feels that the £100 offer is unacceptable then she can go to small claims to pursue it.

That's as may be but there is a duty to provide the tenant with details of the scheme in which the deposit is protected. In this case it sounds as though that was not done appropriately and therefore the tenant has a case. 

It is not the tenant's responsibility - it is the landlord's statutory duty. 

Earlier you said the letting agent did provide paperwork so what was this paperwork that was provided to your daughter?

If your daughter is positive that she never received the prescribed information then she could sue the landlord for failing to provide the prescribed information which, if successful, means the judge must award your daughter a sum of money equivalent to the value of 1-3 times the deposit.  The court fees and paperwork for submitting such a claim are not insubstantial so your daughter would need to be damn sure she never received the prescribed information.  

Positive as in as much as there is no email containing it but there are other emails containing the Tenancy Agreement and the Receipt of the deposit. 

_Penny_Dreadful

Sleepysophie said:

_Penny_Dreadful said:

Lavendyr said:

macman said:

It's normal to check that the deposit has been registered with one of the schemes as soon as the tenancy has started. Not after it has ended. There are only 3, so this can be done in minutes online.
Even if she didn't know, she had 3 months from end of tenancy to find out, but failed to pursue it for a year. Yes, the EA  could have been more helpful, but they act for the LL, not the tenant, so ultimately it's the tenant's responsibility to manage their own deposit.
If she feels that the £100 offer is unacceptable then she can go to small claims to pursue it.

That's as may be but there is a duty to provide the tenant with details of the scheme in which the deposit is protected. In this case it sounds as though that was not done appropriately and therefore the tenant has a case. 

It is not the tenant's responsibility - it is the landlord's statutory duty. 

Earlier you said the letting agent did provide paperwork so what was this paperwork that was provided to your daughter?

If your daughter is positive that she never received the prescribed information then she could sue the landlord for failing to provide the prescribed information which, if successful, means the judge must award your daughter a sum of money equivalent to the value of 1-3 times the deposit.  The court fees and paperwork for submitting such a claim are not insubstantial so your daughter would need to be damn sure she never received the prescribed information.  

Positive as in as much as there is no email containing it but there are other emails containing the Tenancy Agreement and the Receipt of the deposit. 

The prescribed information doesn't have to be emailed.  It can be served by post or in person.  If your daughter is positive that she has never received the prescribed information she could write to the landlord, at the address for the serving of notices, asking for details of which scheme her deposit is protected in because she never received the prescribed information.  Either the landlord will be able to provide evidence that your daughter was indeed served the prescribed information or it will put the cat amongst the pigeons. 

Nebulous2

Have you anything other than the EA's say so to prove that the deposit was ever protected? 

Mr.Generous

The schemes usually email the tenant at the commencement of the tenancy and at termination but I know tenants have said to me along the lines of "Oh yeah they did send something but I deleted it"

The agents tend to send a bundled email with all prescribed info to cover themselves.

Mr.Generous

Nebulous2 said:

Have you anything other than the EA's say so to prove that the deposit was ever protected? 

You could have asked for the landlords ID with the bond scheme and if it's like mine it shows protected and expired deposits.

FarmGirl78

If she contacted the EA and said "I'm disputing the amount of deposit returned" in their defense it likely sounded to them like she knew what she was doing and was just advising them. ie She'd already contacted the DPS.