Sister stole her flatmate’s deposit

OP's sister didn't lose any of her deposit. She got both hers AND the flatmate's deposit back. Basically she profited by a 4 figure sum.

Stop being a sticky beak.

"taking the extra £1200 that (in her eyes) the rich pig would have got for doing sweet FA" -> She wouldn't have got it. It was hers in the first place! She paid it to the LL at the start of the tenancy.

Plus, the girl PAID to hire a cleaner ("Flatmate paid for a cleaner to pick up her shit"). I don't think the fact that the girl had bad habits is THAT relevant here. OP's DS can't just take money as compensation/karma for the experience of living with her.

Looks like the only material damage relevant to the deposit was the carpet and bed. Firstly, the LL's original plan was to dock £2000 for a carpet (the size of a London room so basically the area of a tiny hamster cage) and probably a shitty Ikea bed.

That already sounds shady and is something both flatmates should have contested together. LL gives in because LL was obviously trying their luck in the first place like many Central Landlord LLs I've encountered.

(I've also noticed that having foreign names on the lease – Chinese intl student here – often means large amounts of the deposit are unreasonably withheld even when I consciously try to keep things immaculate.)

Anyway, then OP's sister decides to take the full £2400 and GIVE half of it away to a friend? Putting aside how bizarre that is, why could she not have docked & kept the original £1200 and returned the flatmate £200? She's confiscated even MORE than the LL originally wanted to, so this crosses the line from mere justice into additional revenge, profitting off the girl.

Basically OP's DS originally paid £1200 for the deposit and has now walked away with £2400. So she's taken £1200 extra as "payment" for having to live with the girl apparently. One's a slob, the other's a thief.

Imo the latter is worse but anyway OP should butt out.

Your sister is over 18, she’s an adult. Tell your parents it’s her issue to sort out, not yours, not theirs. End of.

Oh actually I re-read, i though it was a total of 400, now it's a larger amount I'm on the fence.....she really shouldn't have rubbed it in her face
Just block and stay out of it

I fully agree with your sister the flatmate is the reason most of the deposit was kept. Block her on all social media. The likelihood of her spending probably more than the amount to fly back to the country to sort this out is slim

Nothing to do with them.
Nothing to do with you.
Nothing to delegate.
Your sister is an adult.

Block block block.

No one will give you any other advice. There is nothing you could or should do here.

Stop involving yourself block the flatmate on all social media , this is not your problem or your parents

It makes no difference at all that she gave it to a friend. It wasn’t hers to give. (Anyway, I thought you said your sister needed it?)

The facts are that your sister stole the money and could be liable to prosecution. If she wants to be a thief and risk prosecution it’s up to her. She’s an adult. If your parents want to try to influence her, or give her some money to help her pay it back, that’s up to them. Tell your parents you will tell your sister she should give the money back, but after that it is nothing to do with you. Keep out of it.

She's not going to further pursue the LL whom she lied to in order to get both her full £1200 back for her master's deposit AND flatmate's £1200. Sounds like she's got a "Robin Hood" logic going on - taking the extra £1200 that (in her eyes) the rich pig would have got for doing sweet FA and giving it to a skint friend in need. This vengeful reasoning is no doubt justified in her head by the fact that filthy flatmate was happy to see the sister lose £1000 of the deposit she needed for her masters... hence her doing the insanely stupid thing of telling the flatmate what she'd done! There is a sense to her actions, even though they are not sensible.

Just keep out of it @Huhy - it's nothing to do with you. You and your parents have both told her your opinions / possible consequences. That's all you can do. Block ex-housemate from your social media.

Your sister was really bloody stupid and immature for gloating to her ex-housemate about getting her deposit; but she also showed some tenacity for obtaining the deposit back from the dodgy LL - so good on her for that.

Personally I probably would have given ex-housemate £200 back and kept the rest as it would be highly unlikely the 3 parties would be in contact every again.

Honestly I think I would
Tell the girl that dsis has simply remedied the situation in a way that is fair. Deductions were solely as a result of her filth. There is evidence.
You will not get further involved. Stop harassing you and parents
Block her on everything.

I think there's not much to be done about this situation if the sister has taken the action she has and is digging her heels in.

But, going forward, I think the OP's parents should make it clear that they strongly disagree with the notion of stealing as a somehow morally justifiable act in certain circumstances. The fact that the flatmate was an untidy nightmare is irrelevant. It was still stealing. The fact that the money was given away to a friend in need is irrelevant. It was still stealing. In whatever language is preferable they should impress upon their daughter that what she did was not morally acceptable. The parents are still in a position of being able to guide their daughter even if she is nominally grown up - it's not too late to change attitudes and minimise the chances of something of a similar nature happening in the future.

It is not up to the OP to take responsibility for how things pan out though.

Non of your business.
Don't you have your own life to get on with?

What help does the sister want?

What help does the op want to give?

I've not read any help asked for by sister or offered by op.

Only the sister saying she's not giving money, ex flatmate can sue if she wants and she's drawing a line under it
And op saying sister is morally wrong and should pay, and later messaging sister and ex flatmate, washing her hands of the whole thing.

Block her it's nothing to do with you. She's an adult you can't make her do anything.

So then she can lodge the claim.

You say you're parentified due to speaking English on behalf of your parents. So could flatmate.

I agree.

Your sister has acted fraudulently and obtained money by deception when she told the LL to pay BOTH deposits into her own account.

Did they have individual tenancies, or once pay the entire rent and the other then pay their half?

Technically the housemate should be suing the LL for not returning her deposit if there was no permission to refund the deposit to your sister. The LL would then have to sue your sister to get the money back.

Legally, there is 6 years to chase this debt. If the housemate contacts the police then your sister might end up with a criminal record, so I'd tell her to pay the money back ASAP before housemate goes to the police.

Your sister is a little thief isn't she.

Bit late for your parents to get involved now, they've not done a great job on her.

On reading updates, if this is true. Your sister got her deposit back in full in the end? So yeah she’s a thief. But let her get on with it.

ever heard the phrase ‘not my sisters keeper’?

I disagree with all. Why can't op help her sister. Her sister's flatmate was disgusting and because of the bed and carpet lost a lot of HER deposit. Not OP's sister. She cleaned. Her bed and carpet was ok.

@Huhy I think there is more to this story than your sister is telling you.

It makes zero sense for her to go from stressing about losing £800 from her deposit, to then giving £1200 to another friend to help them pay their rent and not being bothered to pursue the landlord for a further £4800 for failure to protect the deposit.

This story doesn't stack up.

Edited because you’re not talking about £200 as you implied in your OP, she got thousands of someone else’s money? Different story.

Block the girl on social media

don’t get involved

your sister has acted badly but tbh I think she was entitled to the remainder of what would have been a very expensive deposit

Your sister has been foolish but she is entitled to take the gamble that the ex flatmate won’t sue her for the money- and I wouldn’t blame her. By all means warn her that if she ends up with a criminal conviction or a CCJ she’s going to be sorry but at the end of the day it’s her choice.

Tell ex flatmate that this has nothing to do with you and block her- if necessary tell her you consider her contact harassment and will consider going to the police yourself. I have absolutely no sympathy for her.

Tell parents you have warned sister and can do no more- she’s an adult and it’s her choice.

Move on with your life and leave them all to it.