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Please help. Rent Deposit Compensation

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elpdotaer
elpdotaer Posts: 13 Forumite
in House buying, renting & selling
Hi all,

Now I think I'm in a very rare and weird situation with trying to get my rent deposit back. Please help!

I was renting from a private landlord from 01/08/2016 to 31/03/2017. In Oct 2016, I was informed that the landlord is moving to the US and the house will be managed by a letting agency. So I've been paying rent to the agency afterwards. After my tenancy ended, I've been asking the agency for my deposit. But they said they need to get the landlord's approval to release the deposit. I asked them several times but they kept saying they didn't hear from the landlord. And now they said they didn't have any deposit from the landlord and I should contact him directly. But I don't have any his contact details in the US, and the agency refuse to give me his contact.... So I'm stuck now.

Could anyone advise me on this please? I've the landlord's UK address written on the tenancy agreement (not sure if he sold his house). So should I write a letter to that address saying if he doesn't refund my deposit I will take court actions?

Thanks in advance!
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  • Pixie5740
    Pixie5740 Posts: 14,515 Forumite
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    elpdotaer wrote: »
    Hi all,

    Now I think I'm in a very rare and weird situation with trying to get my rent deposit back. Please help!

    I was renting from a private landlord from 01/08/2016 to 31/03/2017. In Oct 2016, I was informed that the landlord is moving to the US and the house will be managed by a letting agency. So I've been paying rent to the agency afterwards. After my tenancy ended, I've been asking the agency for my deposit. But they said they need to get the landlord's approval to release the deposit. I asked them several times but they kept saying they didn't hear from the landlord. And now they said they didn't have any deposit from the landlord and I should contact him directly. But I don't have any his contact details in the US, and the agency refuse to give me his contact.... So I'm stuck now.

    Could anyone advise me on this please? I've the landlord's UK address written on the tenancy agreement (not sure if he sold his house). So should I write a letter to that address saying if he doesn't refund my deposit I will take court actions?

    Thanks in advance!

    Can you confirm where in the UK the property is because the law differs between countries?

    Did you ever receive any documentation regarding your deposit and where it is being held? Have you checked any of the deposit schemes to see if it is registered anywhere?

    Your contract is with the landlord the letting agent just acts as his agent and you have no contract with them. If the landlord doesn't hand over your deposit there's nothing the letting agent can really do about it.
  • sal_III
    sal_III Posts: 1,953 Forumite
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    Did you really wait for over 1 year to rise this issue, or is it a typo in the OP?
  • elpdotaer
    elpdotaer Posts: 13 Forumite
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    Pixie5740 wrote: »
    Can you confirm where in the UK the property is because the law differs between countries?

    Did you ever receive any documentation regarding your deposit and where it is being held? Have you checked any of the deposit schemes to see if it is registered anywhere?

    Your contract is with the landlord the letting agent just acts as his agent and you have no contract with them. If the landlord doesn't hand over your deposit there's nothing the letting agent can really do about it.
    Hi,
    Thanks for your quick reply.
    I was renting that house in Sheffield.
    No, I paid rent and deposit to the landlord by cash.... And this is my main concern. I checked the three main deposit schemes, and none of them has the record. I checked online, and it says the landlord breaks the tenancy deposit protection rules if they don't protect my deposit. Is this correct?
    Yes, I understand that. That's why I've been relying the agent chasing the landlord. But it seems not working at all.
  • elpdotaer
    elpdotaer Posts: 13 Forumite
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    sal_III wrote: »
    Did you really wait for over 1 year to rise this issue, or is it a typo in the OP?

    Hi,
    Thanks for your quick reply. I did wait for over a year now (so stupid...). Now I think I shouldn't trust the agency, but really don't know what I should do.
    I did ask the agency several times regarding my deposit after I moved out in 2017. Every time they just said they're still waiting for the landlord. I have all the emails with the agency for record.
  • theartfullodger
    theartfullodger Posts: 14,653 Forumite
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    Follow the excellent, detailed, advice from the experts, Shelter, here...
    https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits
  • elpdotaer
    elpdotaer Posts: 13 Forumite
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    theartfullodger wrote: »
    Follow the excellent, detailed, advice from the experts, Shelter, here...
    Hi,
    Many thanks for the link. I read it through and it's a very useful. Now I just want to get some advice on if it is worth of taking court actions. Because the landlord didn't used any deposit protection scheme and he is one year late to return my deposit.
  • Pixie5740
    Pixie5740 Posts: 14,515 Forumite
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    elpdotaer wrote: »
    Hi,
    Many thanks for the link. I read it through and it's a very useful. Now I just want to get some advice on if it is worth of taking court actions. Because the landlord didn't used any deposit protection scheme and he is one year late to return my deposit.

    You have two choices:

    1) Accept that you will never see your deposit again.

    2) Send a letter before action and then take court action against your former landlord.

    The second choice offers no guarantee that you will ever see your money again but it gives you a chance that you might. The prospect of court action might gee your former landlord into action. if it doesn't and you follow through with taking him to court and win your case you will then need to enforce the judgement. Your landlord has at least one asset in England and that's the property in Sheffield so he does have something to lose.

    You will need an address in England or Wales for your claim so just use the last correspondence address your landlord provided you with, that may well be the address for the serving of notices given in your tenancy agreement.

    Really it's up to you but if I were in your shoes I would pursue this through the courts, including the penalty for not protecting my deposit, even if it took a while to get my money back because the deposit is your money.
  • ciderboy2009
    ciderboy2009 Posts: 1,161 Forumite
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    Do you have an address in England & Wales to serve your former landlord with court documents? There should have been one included in your lease (hopefully you've still got it).

    Without that you're going to have problems issuing a County Court claim against them.

    Assuming that you have got one then, once you've got the judgment, you would be able to apply for a Charging Order against the property you rented.

    Just bear in mind that it might take years before you get your money back.
  • elpdotaer
    elpdotaer Posts: 13 Forumite
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    Pixie5740 wrote: »
    You have two choices:

    1) Accept that you will never see your deposit again.

    2) Send a letter before action and then take court action against your former landlord.

    The second choice offers no guarantee that you will ever see your money again but it gives you a chance that you might. The prospect of court action might gee your former landlord into action. if it doesn't and you follow through with taking him to court and win your case you will then need to enforce the judgement. Your landlord has at least one asset in England and that's the property in Sheffield so he does have something to lose.

    You will need an address in England or Wales for your claim so just use the last correspondence address your landlord provided you with, that may well be the address for the serving of notices given in your tenancy agreement.

    Really it's up to you but if I were in your shoes I would pursue this through the courts, including the penalty for not protecting my deposit, even if it took a while to get my money back because the deposit is your money.

    Hi, thanks for your suggestion. I wrote a letter before action and was just about to send it to the landlord's address. But suddenly my wife reminded me that I didn't pay council tax during my tenancy (don't know if the landlord paid or not). So I'm thinking not to send the letter any more...
  • Pixie5740
    Pixie5740 Posts: 14,515 Forumite
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    elpdotaer wrote: »
    Hi, thanks for your suggestion. I wrote a letter before action and was just about to send it to the landlord's address. But suddenly my wife reminded me that I didn't pay council tax during my tenancy (don't know if the landlord paid or not). So I'm thinking not to send the letter any more...

    What does one have to do with the other? Did your tenancy agreement say that the landlord was responsible for paying the council tax? Unlikely so the council can still chase you for any unpaid council tax.
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