Landlord doesn't want to give agreement or take deposit

[TenancyHelp]

Long story short, my flat is being back by the owner of the building so they'll become my new landlord.

They've emailed proposing to give me back the deposit I paid to my current landlord so that they don't have to issue a new tenancy agreement or put my deposit in a protection scheme.

My concerns are:

1. I claim UC and need to be able to produce a tenancy agreement to say where I live, how much rent I pay, and to whom.

2. with no agreement, does that mean I have fewer/no rights?

3. if there is no deposit, does that mean they could just send me a bill when I move out if they want me to pay for anything and I'd have no legal redress?

I'm not happy about their suggestion but what can I actually do if they give me back the money and refuse to give me an agreement?

TIA for any advice

Sounds very dodge. No advantage for you and lots of risks. Contact Shelter (the charity) who will be able to advise you.

With no agreement you won't be entitled to housing benefit. They must give you a new tenancy.

Thanks both. This is my concern. No benefit to me at all and I'll be unable to claim the housing element.

I'll have to reply and say I need a tenancy agreement but I'm not sure what I'll do if they say they're not going to provide one.

This is dodgy as fuck.

Nope nope nope.

Have they expressed this in writing/email/text?

Cos I'd be demanding their proposal in writing and then going straight to Shelter.

They can't do this and you will put yourself in a very vulnerable position, never mind the benefits issue.

God the rental market in this country needs a massive overhaul.

@RozHuntleysLeftHand yes they've emailed this to me last night.

I'm doing the Shelter online chat now to see what they say.

There’s no requirement in England for a landlord to provide a written tenancy agreement. But the one provided by your previous landlord remains valid regardless of whether a new landlord has taken ownership of the property, your tenancy is on the same terms as the one you originally signed up to and your landlord is also bound by it.

They can pay you back your deposit - yes, they can then still charge you for any damages at the end of your tenancy but they’d have to have proof of these and take you to court if you refused to pay. Not having a deposit is a less favourable position for them, not you.

Thanks @ComtesseDeSpair. I spoke to Shelter who said more or less the same thing.

My biggest concern is Universal Credit. Shelter said legally they don't need a tenancy agreement in order for me to claim. A letter from the landlord should suffice. But I don't trust them not to stop my claim whilst they decide if that's actually the case or not.