Getting rental deposit back
September 17, 2010 12:26 PM   Subscribe

UK: rental deposit problem. What is our best option for recovering the deposit - we are not covered by any of the tenancy deposit schemes?

(Sorry for the detail)
We ended a two-year tenancy in early July. From start to finish we dealt with a letting agent.The rent was above the threshold to be covered by the tenancy deposit schemes.

The agent says the landlord wants to take a thousand pounds off our deposit as a set of expensive knives landlord says he left in the flat are no longer there (the inventory just said five knives, we left five knives) and because we painted the kitchen cabinets without permission when we moved in (this is not true, the agent said it was fine, and the agent's contractor painted the kitchen cabinets as well as the bedrooms, which we paid for, by the way).

1. The contract is signed by the estate agent on behalf of the landlord
2. We deposited rent and deposit into the estate agent's bank account
3. We never had any direct communication with the landlord, only through the estate agent
4. We have raised the points in the paragraph above (knives and painting) in writing to the agent and have reached a stalemate

None of the deposit money has been returned. Estate agent now says if we want to take legal action we should take it against the landlord and they have tried their best.

What is our best option for fair resolution? We are fairly sure the landlord does not live in the UK, and we suspect our best option is to go after the agent. Does anyone know if technically the agent can cede responsibility?
posted by Marzipan to Law & Government (7 answers total)
 
Two years ago, shouldn't you have been covered by a TDP scheme? Should apply to any AST that started after 6 April 2007. If not, then I believe the landlord is liable for prosecution and a 3x fine.

BTW, was there an up-to-date gas safety certificate for the property?
posted by Leon at 12:51 PM on September 17, 2010


In fact, after reading this I'd just skip any more talking and go straight to court.
posted by Leon at 12:53 PM on September 17, 2010


Your best go-to for housing advice is Shelter (their section on deposits) or your local Citizen's Advice Bureau.

I think though that Leon's probably right and this is going to end up with the solicitors - just that you might as well get the free advice first.
posted by Coobeastie at 1:17 PM on September 17, 2010


Questions:
- did you leave the same 5 knives? If you did, then I'd make that clear when dealing with this issue, rather than just focussing on the number. If you didn't, then I think you're in the wrong on that one, morally if not technically.
- did you get the agent's permission in writing (or email) for the painting work? Even if you didn't, the fact that you used their contractor shows that (a) they were aware that you were painting, which implies consent, and (b) they can't quibble about the quality of the work as you used a contractor approved by them. Definitely challenge this one (especially as they've benefited from the work you've done)
- did they approve the paint colour? If it's a neutral colour then this shouldn't be an issue. If you painted the kitchen cabinets hot pink without the explicit consent, then that may make the place less rentable and they'd be within their rights to claim for repainting charges.

Your local citizens' advice bureau (CAB) is probably your best first port of call. They will also be able to advise on whether your contract is with the landlord or the estate agent (if the estate agent signed the contract as the agent of the landlord, particularly if they had a "guaranteed rent" contract with the landlord, then it may well be the landlord, but IANAL)

Also Shelter (www.england.shelter.org.uk) has some useful advice about how to make a claim via the courts for getting your deposit back.

If you haven't already, start a file and include copies of all contracts / emails / letters between you and the estate agent and anything to do with the painting work. And make sure that all further discussions with the estate agent are in writing (or if you call them, send an email straight after the conversation which records what was said and what was agreed.
posted by finding.perdita at 1:20 PM on September 17, 2010


Response by poster: Just to clarify, the landlord was not obligated to have any of the TDP schemes as our rent was above the threshold, and this was made clear to us at the start of the tenancy.

Re the knives, we did not pay attention as to which knives were there when we moved in. When we moved out, we checked the inventory as to what we needed to leave in place, and it just said five knives. The landlord is now claiming that it was a certain brand of knife, for which he is demanding £500. We checked on the internet, and a set of this particular brand of knife is half that amount.
posted by Marzipan at 1:28 PM on September 17, 2010


Knives - thanks for the clarification. If they were particularly good knives, you probably would have noticed... And the landlord should have specified that on the inventory. The pricing information is an important thing to include on your claim! (Datapoint - I once got stung on a deposit for not leaving the elephant's head shaped toilet brush which had been there when we moved in. It was old and manky and ugly so we replaced it with a nice, stylish one which we left when we left the property. We won that one, but I felt very aggrieved that we even needed to fight that issue!)
posted by finding.perdita at 1:43 PM on September 17, 2010


In a hurry, so:
You have to take the landlord to the small claims court, not the letting agent, sorry. By law (Landlord and Tenant Act 1985), you have the right to the name and address of the landlord, and the letting agent needs to give you this information or they would be subjected to a 2500 quid fine.

Definitely challenge this in the small claims court. The process is pretty simple and straightforward, and the filing fee is only 40 quid (or less, or more, but not that much less or more). You just need to write out your account of what happened, and submit all relevant documentation. If you want help in this, memail me, or approach your nearest CAB
posted by moiraine at 4:27 PM on September 17, 2010


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