Can my house bond be kept by the landlord?

[Leicesterdave]

I moved in a flat where I rented a room. This flat was shared with the landlord. The contract stated that I should give 28 days notice before moving out however a relative became very ill so I moved out at very short notice- resulting in only giving a few days notice. I never signed a contract.

The landlord stated that I would get my bond back when a new tenant would move in or in 28 days whichever comes first which I thought was fair enough. I now got back in touch with landlord for this bond but he isn't answering my calls/emails.

Where do I stand with this?

[Glade]

Are you paying the rent during your notice period?

If you had an agreement you would give 28 days notice to quit the property, then its fair you should pay the month's rent. Surely this is one of the reasons for a deposit, and fair for him to hold it.

So the Landlord now has to find someone else which could be a ball ache.
If he gets a tenant quickly, and therefore he has no material loss, gives the deposit back to you then that sounds reasonable.

I think you should be prepared to take it on the chin as you are the one breaking the terms of the agreement.

[The Moose]

It sounds like you're a lodger not a tenant.

You're basically at the mercy of the landlord, however if you shook on an agreement then you should adhere to it, regardless of your reasons.

[Countdown]

I'm guessing he's holding on to the bond in lieu of the rent(assuming you didn't pay the last month).

You could take him to MCOL but seeing as you've not signed any paperwork it'll be his word against yours.

[sc0tt]

You broke the terms

[Condi]

Assuming you upped and left without paying the full 28 days notice you were supposed to give then he is being fair - if he gets someone in and gets rent elsewhere you get your deposit back. If he doesnt, you lose your deposit. You broke the terms and the deposit goes some way to negating any financial loss to him.

[13m]

We have hundreds of tenants, about 10% of whom are British.

Over Christmas, 100% of those who have not paid the rent are British.

[carreauchompeur]

fking hell, not doubting that you had good reasons but why on earth should you not pay as per your agreement? I suspect what he means is that if he gets a new lodger within the month then you get *some* of the month back.

Otherwise he's out of pocket.

So no, I wouldn't expect to see your deposit back as, if it was me and I had an empty room, you wouldn't be getting it back. (Assuming it's a month up front)

[Wacky Racer]

13m said:

We have hundreds of tenants, about 10% of whom are British.

Over Christmas, 100% of those who have not paid the rent are British.

Racist