Rent Deposit Refund

[uber]

One of my staff had a joint tenancy agreement with his ex and after they split she ran up some arrears which is still outstanding. He done a deal to pay off the debt but they are still holding over £1k in deposit which he paid. They have told him he must allow them to take half the money for cleaning then put the rest into the arrears but are refusing to put all the funds directly against the arrears.

My question would be, are they able to demand that they get paid first before the landlords arrears? I know they can't use the funds without his agreement but they are pushing him to agree to their terms.

Any thoughts?

[98elise]

It depends on whats in the AST

[dazwalsh]

So the deposit deductions and rent arrears outweigh the deposit itself? In which case it doesn't matter what gets paid first.

Was the deposit protected and is your staff member happy at paying the deposit deductions? If so then its fair to take the deductions first before the rent arrears.

[kurt535]

Did your pal deposit the money with a tenancy deposit scheme? I quote:

'Your landlord must put your deposit in a government-backed tenancy deposit scheme ( TDP ) if you rent your home on an assured shorthold tenancy that started after 6 April 2007'

If so, they can challenge the demands via the deposit scheme who can arbitrate.

[uber]

kurt535 said:

Did your pal deposit the money with a tenancy deposit scheme? I quote:

'Your landlord must put your deposit in a government-backed tenancy deposit scheme ( TDP ) if you rent your home on an assured shorthold tenancy that started after 6 April 2007'

If so, they can challenge the demands via the deposit scheme who can arbitrate.

Yes I understand its using an approved scheme. I think it might be the agent wanting to get their own costs refunded before their client who is owed the majority of the cash.

[kurt535]

uber said:

kurt535 said:

Did your pal deposit the money with a tenancy deposit scheme? I quote:

'Your landlord must put your deposit in a government-backed tenancy deposit scheme ( TDP ) if you rent your home on an assured shorthold tenancy that started after 6 April 2007'

If so, they can challenge the demands via the deposit scheme who can arbitrate.

Yes I understand its using an approved scheme. I think it might be the agent wanting to get their own costs refunded before their client who is owed the majority of the cash.

well, the charges can be challenged quite legitimately. i really hope they are. too many tenants are still getting stuffed by unscrupulous landlords.

[Ted2]

uber said:

One of my staff had a joint tenancy agreement with his ex and after they split she ran up some arrears which is still outstanding. He done a deal to pay off the debt but they are still holding over £1k in deposit which he paid. They have told him he must allow them to take half the money for cleaning then put the rest into the arrears but are refusing to put all the funds directly against the arrears.

My question would be, are they able to demand that they get paid first before the landlords arrears? I know they can't use the funds without his agreement but they are pushing him to agree to their terms.

Any thoughts?

It is impossible to answer your questions without you providing a full copy of the AST T&Cs. Any replies in the interim are guesswork at best. In fact if you read the T&Cs yourself then you'd have your answers.