Question about deposits and letting

[randomman]

Hi all,

Quick question, I have recently been informed about the laws regarding deposit protection by letting agents/landlords. No I'm fairly certain mine isnt for three reasons

1)Our letting agents are absolute rubbish
2)We have never recieved any info on our deposit being protected
3)This is the first time we have let and the agents have been treating us like retards since we moved in (despite me reading up on all our rights and stuff!)

So my question is, I know they are required to pay out 3 times the deposit if they fail to protect it, but if I tell them part way through the term can they just do it there and then and not have to pay a penny? Or does the fact they didnt do it for 8 months still incrimiate them?

Basically my reason for telling them is a dispute over repairs that have been needed to the property for 4 months now and I physically have no leverage.

[P7 TUS]

randomman said:

Hi all,

Quick question, I have recently been informed about the laws regarding deposit protection by letting agents/landlords. No I'm fairly certain mine isnt for three reasons

1)Our letting agents are absolute rubbish
2)We have never recieved any info on our deposit being protected
3)This is the first time we have let and the agents have been treating us like retards since we moved in (despite me reading up on all our rights and stuff!)

So my question is, I know they are required to pay out 3 times the deposit if they fail to protect it, but if I tell them part way through the term can they just do it there and then and not have to pay a penny? Or does the fact they didnt do it for 8 months still incrimiate them?

Basically my reason for telling them is a dispute over repairs that have been needed to the property for 4 months now and I physically have no leverage.

I would firstly ask them for the TDS account number because they may have placed it in an scheme without telling you.

[randomman]

Cheers for that I will do,

Any idea if they can wiggle out of it if they haven't

[missliv]

randomman said:

Cheers for that I will do,

Any idea if they can wiggle out of it if they haven't

Post 2004 (I think - the last reform to the Housing Act anyway) I believe it's a legal requirement so they'd be in breach of contract. What you could do about it I'm not sure, but mentioning it and threatening to take legal advice if the repairs are not carried out pronto might make them sit up and take notice. It may be a means to an end if the object here is to get them to do what they're supposed to be doing rather than to find a way out of the contract.

Edited by missliv on Monday 4th August 10:45

[P7 TUS]

randomman said:

Cheers for that I will do,

Any idea if they can wiggle out of it if they haven't

TDS laws came into place April 07. So if the tenants moved in after that date then they are in trouble. If the tenants moved in before april 07 and have renewed on a section 21 notice then the money would not need to be placed in a TDS.

[Maxf]

If the rent is over £25k pa then they don't have to put it into a scheme.

[touching cloth]

To make and effective claim, you really want to do so after you move out. This page is very useful:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/residen...

the pertinent bits :

website said:

The statutory requirements will not have been complied with, for example, if:
• the landlord is not using an authorised scheme to safeguard the deposit; or
• the landlord has joined a scheme, but has not complied with the requirements of the scheme, so the deposit is therefore not protected by the scheme; or
• the landlord has failed to provide the tenant with the required information about the scheme and deposit, or has failed to do so within the first 14 days of the tenancy.

If the statutory requirements have not been complied with, the Court must:
• order the person who appears to it to be holding the money to either repay it to the tenant or pay it into an authorised deposit scheme, and that person must do so within 14 days; and
• order the landlord to pay the tenant three times the amount of the deposit, which must be paid within 14 days.

but also

website said:

A claim for three times the amount of the deposit (under section 214(4) of the 2004 Housing Act) might not succeed if the deposit has been protected or repaid before the court hearing takes place, even if it was not protected when the claim was begun. This is because the court can only make an award under section 214(4) if it has made an order for repayment or protection: the Act does not provide for it to make an award under section 214(4) where the deposit has already been refunded or protected (see http://resource.nusonline.co.uk/medi...ement_pack....

However, protecting the deposit after being sued will not save the landlord if the tenancy has ended; for in that case the court has power to make an order for the repayment of the deposit to the tenant, which will give it jurisdiction to make a penalty award under section 214(4). The landlord could only protect himself by making repayment of the deposit in full to the tenant, before the hearing date.

Basically, if you force it during your tenancy he can simply place it in a TDS before the court case, leaving him possibly pissed off and liable to nitpick in the extreme over any damage etc when it does end. If you do it after, given he can't now place it in a scheme, his only option to avoid paying you 3x the amount is to make sure he refunds it in full before any hearing, so whilst he possibly dodges the penaly, he can't deduct anything at all from your deposit (which is quite nice). Either way it doesn't look like it is useful for pushing through anything now re repairs, but might be useful to keep in the back pocket so to speak.

Edited by touching cloth on Monday 4th August 11:55

[randomman]

Thank you all so much for the advice, looks like I'll keep schtum now and try the age old tactic of wastng every lunch break ringing them and follow up after.

Thanks again!