Tenant has handed in notice but won't pay rent for April 2025

itsthelittlethings

If the roof fell down sounds like the property was in a state of disrepair.

HampshireH

itsthelittlethings said:

If the roof fell down sounds like the property was in a state of disrepair.

Nobody has mentioned the roof falling down. OP says a portion of the ceiling which was repaired.

Big difference between a repair and disrepair.

Also not relevant to the tenant choosing not to pay their last months rent after giving notice or stealing money from tenant 2 instead of paying it to the landlord

cs95aam

itsthelittlethings said:

If the roof fell down sounds like the property was in a state of disrepair.

Not the roof, part of the ceiling. The tenant made no complaint about this at the time. 

cs95aam

The landlord is now afraid that if he tells the DPS that the tenant also damaged heavy doors (chunks taken out of them), broke 3 chairs, attached a swing to the door and damaged the door frame. He thinks the tenant will retaliate with his laptop claim and maybe other things which he didn't previously tell him about. Really difficult to advise him.

cs95aam

Bookworm225 said:

theartfullodger said:

_Penny_Dreadful said:

cs95aam said:

_Penny_Dreadful said:

The tenant has served notice and providing it's valid the tenancy will end 30th April.  Once that happens your relative has a could of options:

1. If there's little in the way of deposit deductions due to damage or cleaning at the end of the tenancy, use the the deposit to partially cover the rent arrears and let the remaining arrears slide.
2. Similar to above but instead of letting a deficit slide send the tenant a letter before action and then file a Money Claim Online.  It might not be worth the hassle though.

Are you sure we will be able to claim the deposit back from the DPS? 

Also, how much does the money claim cost?

Why wouldn’t the landlord be able to claim the deposit? The whole purpose of the deposit is to give the landlord some protection against unpaid rent, cleaning, gardening and decorating, damage and missing items. 

The Money Claim Online fee is dependent on how much you’re claiming. 

https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/court-fees

It's the tenant's money. Not the landlord's.  The landlord (I'm one, apologies) has the right to appeal deposit through deposit schemes, brought in after DECADES of greedy landlords ripping off tenants, yet another reason for landlords having such a bad name.

Best wishes to all.

the scheme exists to adjudicate on disputes. The LL has the right to lodge a dispute and the scheme will decide who gets the money based on evidence submitted by both parties to the dispute.

Your emotive wording is irrelevant

If the tenant is claiming his laptop was supposedly damaged what evidence would he need to provide to prove this? The landlord claims his wardrobes, chairs, doorframe and doors were damaged. Chunks taken out of heavy doors. He has photo evidence. However, he's afraid if he says this the tenant will retaliate and he just wants to state to the DPS that the tenant has not paid the rent. However, I suspect this may not be enough for him to get his deposit back?

Can anybody advise?

saajan_12

cs95aam said:

The landlord is now afraid that if he tells the DPS that the tenant also damaged heavy doors (chunks taken out of them), broke 3 chairs, attached a swing to the door and damaged the door frame. He thinks the tenant will retaliate with his laptop claim and maybe other things which he didn't previously tell him about. Really difficult to advise him.

Why does the LL need to get into the damage, if the rent exceeds the deposit anyway? 

Bookworm225

cs95aam said:

Bookworm225 said:

theartfullodger said:

_Penny_Dreadful said:

cs95aam said:

_Penny_Dreadful said:

The tenant has served notice and providing it's valid the tenancy will end 30th April.  Once that happens your relative has a could of options:

1. If there's little in the way of deposit deductions due to damage or cleaning at the end of the tenancy, use the the deposit to partially cover the rent arrears and let the remaining arrears slide.
2. Similar to above but instead of letting a deficit slide send the tenant a letter before action and then file a Money Claim Online.  It might not be worth the hassle though.

Are you sure we will be able to claim the deposit back from the DPS? 

Also, how much does the money claim cost?

Why wouldn’t the landlord be able to claim the deposit? The whole purpose of the deposit is to give the landlord some protection against unpaid rent, cleaning, gardening and decorating, damage and missing items. 

The Money Claim Online fee is dependent on how much you’re claiming. 

https://www.gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money/court-fees

It's the tenant's money. Not the landlord's.  The landlord (I'm one, apologies) has the right to appeal deposit through deposit schemes, brought in after DECADES of greedy landlords ripping off tenants, yet another reason for landlords having such a bad name.

Best wishes to all.

the scheme exists to adjudicate on disputes. The LL has the right to lodge a dispute and the scheme will decide who gets the money based on evidence submitted by both parties to the dispute.

Your emotive wording is irrelevant

If the tenant is claiming his laptop was supposedly damaged what evidence would he need to provide to prove this? The landlord claims his wardrobes, chairs, doorframe and doors were damaged. Chunks taken out of heavy doors. He has photo evidence. However, he's afraid if he says this the tenant will retaliate and he just wants to state to the DPS that the tenant has not paid the rent. However, I suspect this may not be enough for him to get his deposit back?

Can anybody advise?

what can and cannot be claimed from a deposit scheme is easy to check by yourself and includes unpaid rent. 
Deposits: Unpaid rent and bills - Shelter England

Tenancy deposit protection: Disputes and problems - GOV.UK

As you say rent  > deposit then anything else (eg damage) is irrelevant as that would need a court case to claim it and possibly subsequent enforcement action to actually collect the money (if he wins)

Schwarzwald

itsthelittlethings said:

It’s only really acceptable not to pay your rent for the last month if your deposit covers the rent.

No, actually it isnt… why would you even consoder that acceptable? 

So if the tenant has damaged the property requiring repair to be covered by the deposit, and then doesnt pay the last month, you think this is acceptable?

odd thinking

Bookworm225

Schwarzwald said:

itsthelittlethings said:

It’s only really acceptable not to pay your rent for the last month if your deposit covers the rent.

No, actually it isnt… why would you even consoder that acceptable? 

So if the tenant has damaged the property requiring repair to be covered by the deposit, and then doesnt pay the last month, you think this is acceptable?

odd thinking

which is why some tenancy contracts expressly state that the deposit may NOT be used to cover unpaid rent.

The obvious downside of that of course being the LL then has no option but to pay for a court case to sue for unpaid rent. Having in the meantime returned none, some, or all of the deposit depending on extent of damage covered by the deposit. 

There is no perfect solution that works for both T and LL 

itsthelittlethings

Schwarzwald said:

itsthelittlethings said:

It’s only really acceptable not to pay your rent for the last month if your deposit covers the rent.

No, actually it isnt… why would you even consoder that acceptable? 

So if the tenant has damaged the property requiring repair to be covered by the deposit, and then doesnt pay the last month, you think this is acceptable?

odd thinking

How are you supposed to pay the deposit on your next room?