to have sent my ex landlord this email after he sent me stroppy emails.

[TheLadyEvenstar]

as for the inspection, please remember the amount of repairs which you have been informed of over the last TWO years. Including the GLASS door which fell onto my son. which YOU never repaired nor had the common courtesy to enquire how my son was after that.

The wall collapsing in the ensuite,
the lack of carpet in my room due to severe damp
the bowing living room floor
the crumbling wall in my sons bedroom
the leaking overflow pipe
the constant blocked drain in the courtyard
the lack of carpet in my sons room due to severe damp and mold on the carpet.
The damage to ceilings where you had to cut parts away - which were never totally repaired
the leaking sink in the family bathroom
the leaking shower and tiles which fell off the wall in the ensuite

to name but a few.

I am not going to take further action but I could as you were fully aware of the substandard conditions you left myself and my children in and yet you as a landlord failed to carry out your responsibilities

From Shelter's website:

"What does my landlord or agent have to do?

After you've paid your deposit, the landlord or agent must then protect your deposit using a tenancy deposit scheme. There are two types of scheme available:

* A custodial scheme, where the landlord or agent pays the deposit to the scheme, which will keep it until the end of your tenancy.
* An insurance scheme, where the landlord or agent keeps the deposit but pays insurance premiums to the scheme. This means that the deposit is insured if there is any dispute, and the scheme will repay the tenant the agreed amount directly. The insurance scheme can charge fees to landlords for membership and can require contributions towards the costs of insurance.

It will be up to your landlord or agent to decide what scheme to use. They must then provide certain information to you within 14 days of the day when you paid your deposit. This information includes:

* the landlord or agent's contact details
* which tenancy deposit scheme they are using and the contact details for the scheme
* information about the purpose of a tenancy deposit
* how you can apply to get the deposit back at the end of the tenancy
* what you can do if there is a dispute about the deposit."

"What can I do if my landlord or agent doesn't provide the required information or hasn't protected my deposit?

You can apply to the county court for an order that the landlord or agent should pay the deposit back to you, or protect it in one of the tenancy deposit protection schemes.

The court can also order the landlord or agent to pay you compensation equivalent to three times the value of the deposit you paid. However, the law on this issue is unclear and the court may not fine your landlord unless your deposit is still unprotected by the date of the court hearing.

The rules on how your landlord can evict you will change if your deposit is not protected. Normally, landlords of assured shorthold tenants can evict a tenant by giving a minimum of two months' notice and then getting a court order without having to show a reason. This is known as the 'shorthold ground'. If your landlord or agent hasn't protected your deposit and provided the required information, then they cannot use the shorthold ground to evict you."

I had to threaten my ex-landlord with the small claims court after he 'forgot' to return our deposit and illegaly moved someone else into the house before the end of the tenancy.

Keep everything you send and recieve including phone calls as what you are descibing is harrasment. This means that it is not just civil offences (non return of deposit - lack of upkeep) but also criminal offences to.

In general if you do go to a small claims court with plenty of evidence they tend to take a very dim view of landlords/letting agents trying it on. Although judging by what you have said this is an altogether more serious matter and you should seriously consider criminal proceedings.

Might it be an idea to put a shout out on Chat and on your MN Local area, to see if some kind MNer or two can help you collect your last few belongings, LadyEvenStar?

I'm sure that someone would help, from what I've seen of past kindness when folk are in difficulty.

Vall,
I have worked it out, I will go there tomorrow with DS2 and make it a game to see who can move the most stuff to the skip opposite. I needed to have a good downsize!!!

I will only bring the most important things, sentimental items and the boys toys/bikes.
everything else I will chuck.

I hate to ask others to help as I am still embarrassed by the state of the place. by that I mean the state of disrepair.

Oh Lady, that's not YOUR fault. You shouldn't feel like that.

I wish I could help... I recall you saying that you live in my home area... but I'm stuck many miles away.

Do please reconsider asking for a helping hand, if only to lighten your spirits about such a bloody awful experience.

I am in your home area yes. I guess I have my pride still intact.

Have found a man and van which is fairly cheap - £60 to move the items I have left there so will crack on either later when I have someone to look after the boys or in the morning, although my sensible head tells me to get there tonight and get as much done as possible. Then Saturday i should be able to get the bits moved over and spend sunday cleaning it up for his inspection.

At university we got a deposit cheque back from the letting agents for about £150...which bounced. Hmm, what an upright and trustworthy business - not! We got the money in the end, but it took a lot of pestering.

Deposit protection scheme only applies on ASTs since April 2007. Collect your stuff (it isnlt vacant until you do and he could pursue you for interim rent, if unlikely) get your deposit back and let the council deal with your complaint.