Advice needed about not receiving the prescribed information for my deposit

Needsomehelp1979

Hello members

Hope somebody can help with something Information and advice. My ex Landlord never sent us the prescribed information when he changed the details on our deposit when he became our soul Landlord.

I am looking for advice on how to put in a claim of compensation for this. Another question I have is we only received a copy of the section 3 and section 48 notice about two years after the sale of the property. This was only given to us as he was going through the process of trying to evict us with a section 21.

Hope there is someone out there that can give me information of what I can do about this.

Needsomehelp1979

I have seen online that the section 3 notice Information needs to be sent within one day after the rent is due and two months after sale of Property. The Property was originally owned by two family members and after a dispute my Landlord bought out the other member and became my soul Landlord. He has failed to give us notification of any changes for up to 2 years after the sale. What I don’t understand Is due I need to claim compensation for not receiving the information on time.

tacpot12

This webpage should help: If your landlord didn’t follow deposit rules - Citizens Advice

propertyrental

1) Re the PI, read:
Post 3: Deposits: Payment, Protection and Return.

2) re  the S3 notice, read S3

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1985/70/section/3

(ask Trading Standards to prosecute)

3) Re S48 read S48

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1987/31/section/48

(withold rent)

theartfullodger

Needsomehelp1979 said:

Hello members

.....

Another question I have is we only received a copy of the section 3 and section 48 notice about two years after the sale of the property. ...

No s48 notice means no rent was due.  You were being very generous.

S3 is fines and criminal offence, but sadly rarely enforced.

(Possible you were served valid info but not as formal notices, in which case would have been valid.)

Have you left or are you still there?

Who's been in charge these last 14 years?  Can't remember.

Artful: Landlord since 2000.

Needsomehelp1979

theartfullodger said:

Needsomehelp1979 said:

Hello members

.....

Another question I have is we only received a copy of the section 3 and section 48 notice about two years after the sale of the property. ...

No s48 notice means no rent was due.  You were being very generous.

S3 is fines and criminal offence, but sadly rarely enforced.

(Possible you were served valid info but not as formal notices, in which case would have been valid.)

Have you left or are you still there?

Who's been in charge these last 14 years?  Can't remember.

Artful: Landlord since 2000.

To be clear we had been in the property for almost 10 years. We started with an agency and after a few years our then joint landlords dropped the agency and went on their own. Around 2020 the landlords had a falling out and the person who did all the landlord stuff sold their share of the property and we were left with our now ex landlord. Unfortunately our ex landlord is the one didn’t send us the prescribed information for our deposit when he moved it to his name and it was only in 2023 that we received the section 3 and section 48 change of landlord notice. This was shortly before we were served with a section 21 after telling us he wanted to sell. 

theartfullodger

Thank you: 

May I 'umbly enquire, again,  Have you left or are you still there?  Advice differs depending on your answer, please.

Is this England or Wales?  If England see
https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/costs_of_renting/tenancy_deposits/tenancy_deposit_protection_prescribed_information

Assuming s48 address was England or Wales, was s3 address in either, please?? (I've had a situation where I needed to serve different addresses)

Needsomehelp1979

I am no longer in that property 
It was a London address 

Needsomehelp1979

Unfortunately the address he provided was for a deceased family member which he had no access to. 

theartfullodger

So s48 was invalid? In that case you owed no rent (until served a valid one).  

The shelter link will tell you your options

propertyrental

Needsomehelp1979 said:

Unfortunately the address he provided was for a deceased family member which he had no access to. 

That does not make it invalid. His job as LL is to keep up to date the address he wants the T to use 'for serving notices'. Your job as T is to use the address provided.

If the LL fails to update the address (eg when the person living there died) the law continues to assume that any notices/correspondance the T sends there will be received. It's the LL's problem if he does not in reality receive those notices etc, but it becomes the T's problem if the T fails to use the most up-to-date address provided.