clarebutler Posted October 25, 2010 Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 i am a landlord. 3 years ago i rented out a flat and a £1,500 deposit was paid. at the same time my husband was admitted to hospital after having a stroke and therefore I never actually transferred the deposit to the correct scheme as I was unaware of the new law, but i did keep the deposit in a separate bank account. after the first year the tenant did not renew the tenancy officially but continued to rent the flat and pay the rent. The official tenancy expired on 7 July 2008. The tenant vacated the flat in July 2010 and it was in an absolutely disgusting state. windows were covered in black mould and the paint had peeled off in several of the rooms due to lack of cleaning and ventilation and that is just one of the problems that i faced. the windows have had to be repainted. The garden could hardly be entered and the flat took several days and several people to clean it properly. the tenant expected all of his deposit back. it has cost me most of the deposit to get the flat back to a clean state but the tenant is demanding his full deposit back. I have offered him £500 as a gesture of goodwill although it has cost me far more to get the flat back into a rentable condition. as the tenancy officially expired over two years ago, can he still sue me for not putting the deposit into the correct scheme. or, if i now put the deposit into a proper scheme does that mean that he can't sue me. sorry for long ramblings. I cannot believe that for one error on my behalf a tenant can get away with leaving my property in a condition that can only be described as uninhabitable. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trenners Posted October 25, 2010 Report Share Posted October 25, 2010 Hi Clare, You broke the law by not securing the deposit in a Government approved tenancy deposit protection scheme. Ignorance or difficult personal circumstances is not a defence. If found guilty - which you are - you will be fined 3 x the deposit and ordered to pay this as compensation to your ex-tenant. I know your tenant damaged your property - but you broke the law. I would refund the deposit - in full - to the tenant and hope he doesn't take legal action against you !! Good luck, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mortitia Posted October 26, 2010 Report Share Posted October 26, 2010 Not so fast!! First check your dates - did tenant move in after 6th May 2007? If so you should have protected the deposit. Even death is not an excuse. You cannot protect now because tenancy has ended. If tenant was still in situ you could have protected with the government run Deposit Protection Servicce (DPS) this is the only body that will take late deposits. Agree with Mark that you should just give deposit back and get a receipt. Anyway - why did you not see dirt and mould at regular inspections? In truth very few tenants leave properties in A1 clean condition so always expect some cleaning. Mortitia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trenners Posted October 26, 2010 Report Share Posted October 26, 2010 Not so fast!! First check your dates - did tenant move in after 6th May 2007? If so you should have protected the deposit. Even death is not an excuse. You cannot protect now because tenancy has ended. If tenant was still in situ you could have protected with the government run Deposit Protection Servicce (DPS) this is the only body that will take late deposits. Agree with Mark that you should just give deposit back and get a receipt. Anyway - why did you not see dirt and mould at regular inspections? In truth very few tenants leave properties in A1 clean condition so always expect some cleaning. Mortitia Tenancy Deposit Protection laws came into effect on all tenancies that commenced on or after 6th APRIL 2007 ..... not 6th MAY 2007 ....... if the tenancy started after the April date ..... you have broken the law. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mortitia Posted October 27, 2010 Report Share Posted October 27, 2010 Sorry about that I meant April - must be Christmas next month! Mortitia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melboy Posted October 27, 2010 Report Share Posted October 27, 2010 Sorry about that I meant April - must be Christmas next month! Mortitia It is in all the shops Mortitia.......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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