Landlady threatening to keep deposit

[SouI]

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/legal_matters/5004187-conflict-of-terms-in-contract-lodger-agreement

Hi,

I posted the above thread a couple of days ago and everyone was very helpful. Posting here for a bit more traffic, hoping people might be able to advise me a bit further.

TL;DR: I want to leave my fixed term lodger agreement and have given my one months notice as per the break clause in the contract. Landlady is refusing and wants me to see out my fixed term despite me explaining the legal position including "contra proferentem" (which is ironic because she is a lawyer and l'm not!).

I wrote out my formal notice last night for completeness. This morning she was furious. She accused me of causing her too much stress and said the fixed term still stands.

She said I cannot leave before then and if do she won't be returning my £1,000 deposit. She did say she would "do her best" to try to fill the room but she's still not put the ad up despite me letting her know a few days ago.

The problem is she is really strict about the criteria she wants - I previously said I will help find someone.

I kept my cool, let her rant without interrupting. The only thing I said was I agree with her that "the contract still stands". What I didn't say is that is because I know the law is on my side and I have given her my notice according the the break clause.

I normally pay my rent one month in advance on the 5th. My question is, how do I pay my final weeks rent next month?

Do I tell her to take it out of the deposit she is holding on onto or, in order to maintain appearances should it end up escalating to court, pay the one weeks rent pro rata so £250? That way I figure she can’t accuse me of doing anything wrong. For what it’s worth, I doubt I'll be in the house that final week.

My correspondence with her has been incredibly polite and I've said multiple times how I want to help make the transition as smooth as possible. Her correspondence on the other hand has been the opposite with threatening undertones re the deposit. I want to ensure I do things by the book.

Many thanks!

Don't break the contract by witholding rent. Far better to pay it and make a claim for your deposit through the relevant scheme.

I'm confused as to whether you are a lodger or tenant but, whichever it is, you need to pay the rent and then contest her holding on to the deposit via your deposit protection scheme.

You do know which scheme it's with don't you?

Thanks both. I think I ought to pay rent for that final week and go to the small claims court to get the deposit back then.

@BlackandGold I’m a lodger and as such don’t have the same protections regarding deposit schemes. So it was sent via bank transfer.

Landlords don't officially have to put lodgers' deposits in the scheme.
OP will be looking at Small Claims Court?

@RestingPassportFace Yes I think it is looking that way. I’m wondering if that means it is best for me to pay that one weeks rent - £250 - so that if it gets to the small claims court I’ve done everything by the book. Or am I risking losing an additional £250 in addition to the £1,000?

It's been a law for the last few years for the landlord to put the deposit in the deposit scheme. At least in England and at least in the relation to rented flats (personal experience). I heard the laws are incredibly strict on this point. Can you Google it up? Or contact charity Shelter?

@Kosenrufugirl Hi, thanks for the reply. Unfortunately lodgers aren’t entitled to the same protections as tenants. No deposit protection scheme.

But do lodgers have fixed term contracts? I thought lodgers could be asked to leave at short notice.

It sounds like the landlady wants the benefits of an AST-type contract with fixed terms etc but doesn't want the disadvantages to her such as deposit protection.

Has she accidently created an AST tenancy? I've read of couple of instances recently

I recommend that you call Shelter to clarify your legal rights and obligations

If it were me I'd pay the amount owed for the one week you will be living there in the month, email again start of the billing period to clarify "I have paid for the final week of my rental; as per previous emails I gave my contracted one month notice on X and Y will be my final day at the property"

Move out. Take detailed photographs of everything you leave behind, I'd even photograph the gas and elec meters just so she can't say you used loads of extra utilities in your last week.

Then if no sign of the deposit, open a small claims.

If you have given a months notice in line with the break clause then under what legal right does she have to withhold your deposit?

Contrary to everything else I wouldn’t pay I’d tell her to take it out of deposit. Getting it back is going ot be a faff even if you are legally entitled. I would email her though and explain that’s what you’d like her to do.

@Lunde Thanks for the reply. I have the same understanding of lodger agreement as you. Despite this she is insisting I must stay for the fixed term. In addition there is a break clause so I am confident I am in the right.

She is a lawyer and threatening to keep the deposit if I don’t. I’m fairly certain if I took her to the small claims court I’d win. I’ve tried contacting Shelter but my work makes it difficult and every time I’ve called the wait has been too long for my work breaks.

@SecondUsername4me Yes, I think that is what I am going to have to do. Do you have any insight as to whether my interpretation is correct? As in, I think the law is on my side but not 100%.

@letsallmeetupinthehyear2000 My thoughts exactly! But she keeps telling me she is a solicitor and knows how contract law works and that I have to stay.

@Trufflump I definitely get your pov. My worry is if it does get to the small claims court it wouldn’t look good if I’ve not paid any rent. At this point I’m fairly certain I’ve done everything properly and legally. I think withholding rent my look bad, not sure though. I suppose if I do pay the additional £250 for the weeks extra rent there is a risk I’ll lose £1,250 instead of just the £1000….

Do not withhold rent. You will lose all moral highground and if this ends up in court they'll use it against you.

@SecondUsername4me Thanks. I will go ahead and pay it. Do you think otherwise there is no reason for the court to rule against me? Obviously anxious about the whole situation

If the contract states that you can leave with a months notice then you can leave with a month's notice. The court couldn't rule against you for following the terms in the contract.

Does the break clause have a date on it?

No. It says:

“Termination of Agreement
This agreement can be ended at any time by:
a) The Landlord giving the Lodger notice to quit the Accommodation at the end of the Notice Period.

b) The Lodger giving the Landlord notice of his intention to vacate the Accommodation by providing the Landlord with 1 month's notice.”

She points to this clause to say why I can’t leave:

”This Agreement is for a term of one year, however it can be terminated by the Lodger by giving one month's notice after 1 June 2024”

My understanding however is 1) the first statement is a break clause; 2) if there is ambiguity in a contract the law goes against the person who drew up the contract aka “contra proferentem”.

"This Agreement is for a term of one year, however it can be terminated by the Lodger by giving one month's notice after 1 June 2024”

There's nothing ambitious about this though. This is the break clause. You can break the agreement at the earliest 1 June 2024 by giving notice then.

ambiguous sorry not ambitious.

@SecondUsername4me Sorry, I meant because the two clauses were ambiguous/conflicting. One says “at any time” and the other says after 1 June.

OP has clearly stated that the ambiguity is caused by the existence of two conflicting causes. Not that each clause is ambiguous on its own.

If the contract you signed stated one month after June clearly June is the 6 month break Claus.

I do understand that but the other part of the contract says I can give notice “at any time” which I have done.

My reading of the law is that I am thus entitled to my notice at any time, especially as this is a lodger agreement rather than tenancy.

Managed to get through to Shelter but unfortunately they didn’t know…

Said they are not qualified to advise on legal matters but that it does sound like a break clause but couldn’t guarantee. So kind of back to square one.