Should he ask for the deposit back off his ex?

[sarahfairy]

My brother has a child with his ex. They rented a property together and he paid all the admin fees and the deposit when they moved in. In less than a year, they split up and he left. Ex remained in the property and has since moved her new partner in.

They are wanting to move in to a bigger property. When they find a suitable property, should my brother ask his ex for the deposit back? He does have a child with her.

He's asked me for advice but I'm torn

In a similar situation my friends deposit was paid back to her ex (who had left two years before) as it had been paid from his bank account originally even though they had contributed half each. They were far from amicable however he did actually return her half but not sure she could have done anything if he hadn't.

In his situation I would just check through the letting agent. If she now has another partner and he's paying support then it's reasonable to get it back.

Wait a moment... if he was on the teancny then he MUST - RIGHT NOW - go to the agent and get himself off it, even if that ends the whole tenancy.

That will trigger the deposit return. If he was on the deposit certificate, the money came from his bank account, then he will get his money back. In law neither his ex nro the agent can stop him from doing that if he was on the tenancy and the deposit was on his name!

If he does not then his ex and her new man are living in a house that he remains financially responsible for. Should anything happen he could be chased for payments.

All he has to do is talk to the agent. Get the ball rolling.

Thanks for all replies, I have spoken to my brother and he most definitely did not sign anything to say he had moved out. He has emailed them and they have replied that they were aware he was no longer living at the property - this was his ex who informed them.

He moved out of the property about 2 years ago and the tenancy has come to an end - no idea if she has signed for another 6/12 whatever months or if it's just on a rolling contract.

As others say, it's maybe not worth the hassle. But if he doesn't do anything....that's another thing she's got off him. She paid absolutely nothing when they moved into the house. And after 8 months....she told him to leave.

We have rental properties at work. When we had a couple split a new tenancy had to be set up for the person wishing to remain and the leaver had to give permission for the deposit to be transferred to the new tenancy. We couldn't do it without their consent.

I'm wondering if something suspicious has gone on here then

He has emailed them and they have replied that they were aware he was no longer living at the property - this was his ex who informed them.

That’s not the same as “Your name has been removed from the tenancy agreement” at all.

He needs to find if his name is on the tenancy ASAP. If it is he’s still liable for the rent if his ex stops paying

He's going to contact the letting agent in the morning, thanks all - he has no documents to prove it unfortunately as he took nothing when he left.

Yes she would have had to take out a new tenancy agreement which would end the previous one. Where is the deposit held? It will tell you whose name the deposit is in when it was paid and if it is still held. That is mainly what he can do for now. It just sounds like the tenancy has rolled on although they are ‘aware’ this is not him officially leaving the tenancy perhaps

The deposit should be in the deposit scheme. If he was on the tenancy and signed that original agreement then he will have a dispute as to who gets the deposit. He is linked to it.