Getting Deposit Back

[tweetyfoo]

So .. we moved out of our flat in April, after a 5 year tenancy.

At the time we had a nightmare getting hold of letting agent, just to give notice, as they had been taken over and moved without notifying us. We hadn't heard form them since we signed the tenancy agreement after moving in

All we had was a mobile number for the manager from the letting agent, and we eventually got hold of him.

DH went back to the flat with him for inventory check etc, and we were told that once clearance from elec and gas and council tax came through we could have our £525 deposit back.

That was all sorted, manager agreed we could have our deposit back ... but still no sign.

He is now completely ignoring us, and we don't know what to do.

£525 is a lot of money and I bloody want it back!

 

[tabbi]

go into them and say your not leaving til you have it back hun x x x

 

[tweetyfoo]

go into them and say your not leaving til you have it back hun x x x

They don't have an office anymore! Its just this guy and his phone, otherwise I would have staged a sit in weeks ago

 

[tabbi]

best thing is contact CAB in your area they will be best to advise you as i dont want give you any wrong information and it come back on you. x x x

 

[monkeynut]

I could not recommend this site/forum enough... They are fantastic and will tell you exactly what you need to do- www.landlordzone.co.uk

 

[Leah04x]

If your tenancy started on or after 6th April 2007, by law the letting agent is obliged to protect your deposit (as long as you signed a standard Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement).
This means that it should be placed into a government authorised deposit protection schemes.
The main ones are: The Deposit Protection Service (DPS), My Deposits, The Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) & The Dispute Service.
This means that the letting agent would not hold your deposit and no interest would be made on the money.

The letting agent could also use insurance backed protection, of which he would pay for, so he was able to hold the money himself.

Both of these you should receive a deposit protection certificate, so you're able to see where your deposit is held, which scheme etc etc..

By law, the letting agent should have submitted your deposit into his chosen scheme within 14 days of receiving it and provided you with the above information. If they have failed to do this, the letting agent can be taken to court, where you can claim up to three times the amount of your deposit back due to their misconduct. They would also have to pay legal costs.

The letting agent should have returned your deposit within 10 days of you vacating the property, not 5 months!! I would try contacting the letting agent again asking for the deposit protection certificate. If he can provide this, all well and good. The schemes run helplines that you can call and they act as the middle man between you & the letting agent/landlord, and the deposit will be returned.
If he can't provide any proof that your deposit is protected, I'd put the wind up his sails with mentioning taking further legal action if you deposit isn't returned within a reasonable amount of time - NOT 5 months! Say a week or something.

I've not long started my maternity leave. I was working as a lettings negotiator, so if I can be of any more help just let me know

Hope you manage to get things sorted love! xx

 

[leesey]

If your tenancy started on or after 6th April 2007, by law the letting agent is obliged to protect your deposit (as long as you signed a standard Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement).
This means that it should be placed into a government authorised deposit protection schemes.
The main ones are: The Deposit Protection Service (DPS), My Deposits, The Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) & The Dispute Service.
This means that the letting agent would not hold your deposit and no interest would be made on the money.

The letting agent could also use insurance backed protection, of which he would pay for, so he was able to hold the money himself.

Both of these you should receive a deposit protection certificate, so you're able to see where your deposit is held, which scheme etc etc..

By law, the letting agent should have submitted your deposit into his chosen scheme within 14 days of receiving it and provided you with the above information. If they have failed to do this, the letting agent can be taken to court, where you can claim up to three times the amount of your deposit back due to their misconduct. They would also have to pay legal costs.

The letting agent should have returned your deposit within 10 days of you vacating the property, not 5 months!! I would try contacting the letting agent again asking for the deposit protection certificate. If he can provide this, all well and good. The schemes run helplines that you can call and they act as the middle man between you & the letting agent/landlord, and the deposit will be returned.

Not in Scotland unfortunately, the tenancy deposit scheme is only coming into play this month.

 

[leesey]

Tweety have you tried looking for the landlord through the landlord registry? Your local authority should be able to help you with this, as they are responsible for running it in your area. At my council they're called 'Private Sector Housing' department and they deal with the ins and outs of private lets in the area. By law your landlord will have to be registered with them, and he has to abide by the rules of the registration. By not returning your deposit he has broken the rules and can end up losing his registration and therefore his ability to let out his property. Definitely get in touch.

You can also do a search for the property on the landlord registry site: https://www.landlordregistrationscotland.gov.uk/

 

[tweetyfoo]

Tweety have you tried looking for the landlord through the landlord registry? Your local authority should be able to help you with this, as they are responsible for running it in your area. At my council they're called 'Private Sector Housing' department and they deal with the ins and outs of private lets in the area. By law your landlord will have to be registered with them, and he has to abide by the rules of the registration. By not returning your deposit he has broken the rules and can end up losing his registration and therefore his ability to let out his property. Definitely get in touch.

You can also do a search for the property on the landlord registry site: https://www.landlordregistrationscotland.gov.uk/

We rented through a letting agent, never had any contact with the actual landlord, who I believe lives abroad?

Would this still apply?

The letting agent seems to have disappeared though, and its just this one guy and his phone now! Its getting ridiculous I just want my money back!

DH has been bombarding him with phone calls and texts on a daily basis and he just ignores us

 

[leesey]

Tweety have you tried looking for the landlord through the landlord registry? Your local authority should be able to help you with this, as they are responsible for running it in your area. At my council they're called 'Private Sector Housing' department and they deal with the ins and outs of private lets in the area. By law your landlord will have to be registered with them, and he has to abide by the rules of the registration. By not returning your deposit he has broken the rules and can end up losing his registration and therefore his ability to let out his property. Definitely get in touch.

You can also do a search for the property on the landlord registry site: https://www.landlordregistrationscotland.gov.uk/

We rented through a letting agent, never had any contact with the actual landlord, who I believe lives abroad?

Would this still apply?

The letting agent seems to have disappeared though, and its just this one guy and his phone now! Its getting ridiculous I just want my money back!

DH has been bombarding him with phone calls and texts on a daily basis and he just ignores us

Yeah it still applies, the landlord is still responsible. Get in touch with landlord registration at your council and explain what's happened. Did you look up the address on the registry?

Sorry you're having such a rubbish time, pm me when you can (after today is out of the way) and let me know how you get on xx