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!

She cant have it both ways

If your a tenant, then she gives you a contract and protects your deposit

If your a lodger, then you can leave at anytime, she can ask you to leave at anytime no notice needs to be given, you don't have a contract so to speak. You may have a rules list.

I think she is mixing them both up

I think you should get some legal advice about statutory regulations for lodgers (and some someone who has read the full lodging agreement) as it looks on the face of it as though she's tried to effectively have her cake and eat it by giving herself the protection of a fixed minimum term (as it it were an AST to which v specific statutory rules apply) whilst at the same time having the maximum flexibility for her as landlord and minimum certainty for you as lodger that usually comes with a lodging agreement. Not having read the whole agreement it's impossible to say for sure but it does appear as you say to be ambiguous and contradictory. Which is why I suggest specific legal advise re lodging agreements as for example there are certain statutory protections which cannot be contracted out of (eg with an AST you cannot contract out of the fact that the landlord does have to register the deposit with a deposit protection scheme, even if the agreement says they don't). I'm less familiar with the law re lodging agreements.

She probably didn't mean to put "at any time" in there. The fact that it's there though makes it ambiguous and you can try arguing against it.

@Needanewnamebeingwatched Thanks. That is what I feel like she is doing. It’s the threats to keep my deposit that is really upsetting me. I need that money much more than she does in her mortgage free, central London 4 bedroom home.

@Lemonyfuckit Thank you for going into such detail. Everything I’ve read online does seem to suggest I am within my right to leave and get my deposit back. I will try and find some legal advice but it seems very few people actually understand how lodger agreements work. Shelter were certainly unsure.

@Teacup19 Thanks for the reply. Even if she didn’t mean to leave it in there I’m not sure it’s my problem? She wrote it and if there are errors in the contract she wrote that is her issue to deal with as far as I can see.

Sadly some landlords will do anything to not give your deposit back.
I had to take mine through the deposit scheme appeal (different issue and involved landlord using claims that the place was not cleaned properly when I cleaned it for 2 days and did a lot of work leaving it spotless - it looked so nice that the estate agent rang me to say the first person they showed round wanted it straight away) I had also replaced dead lavender plants in the garden with new ones and painted the roof of the conservatory with damp proof paint on behalf of the landlord - I offered to do it and she accepted gratefully. I was a tenant not a lodger. It was a lot of work to try to get the deposit back and took a long time and I only got half back. So I'd also be inclined to delay the last month's payment until you are sure this is sorted if possible.

@letsallmeetupinthehyear2000 That sucks so bad. I’m sorry you went through that. How horrible, especially when you sound like an ideal tenant. Did you end up going to the small claims court?

I feel I’ve been a very good lodger. I am quiet, very clean, never bring guests around and am only there for half the week. I’ve given her my one months notice already and I paid my £1000 rent last week. So she is effectively holding the £1000 hostage unfortunately.

If you are acting as per contract, there is nothing esle to say. You can take the LL to court for breach of contract

Thanks for the reply. The issue I am worried about is the two conflicting clauses ie one says I have to wait until June to give notice and another that says I can give notice at “any time”. I believe as she was the one who wrote the clause the burden falls on her but as I’m not a solicitor I’m not 100% sure.

I'm no expert but we rent out houses via LA and to safeguard us and the T, we let them do the contracts but are aware of a few things

Often - the 12-month contract is binding and both the LL & T may agree to a 6-month get-out clause via an appropriate notice period. But I think it can't be done before then unless via mutual agreement

I may be wrong but pretty centain this is what our new contracts contain

Sorry I have literally only just thrown away all the paperwork relating to my deposit claim. I kept it for about 5 years - I thought I could pass on some advice to someone else one day. It wasn't the small claims court - I think it was called "my deposits" which was where the letting agents kept my deposit. I raised a dispute through "my deposits". I sent lots of photos and evidence etc etc. https://www.mydeposits.co.uk/law/
Did your landlady use anything like a deposit scheme?
She may just be trying it on - it may all be hot air just to see how far she can go. I would personally maybe have a bit of a google for a template letter which area always useful at times like this. Stating you will take this to small claims court (or deposit dispute resolution if applicable) You can keep it polite but official. https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/court_action_to_get_your_deposit_back/letter_before_court_action_failure_to_return_deposit

just found this on govt "rent a room" website which is for live in lodgers
but it sounds like your lodger does not live in so not sure if same applies because there are all kinds of rules about, if you have a lock on outside of your room you are a tenant if not you are a lodger etc:
Your lodger ends the tenancy
Your lodger can end the tenancy by giving you notice. They cannot do this during the fixed term of the tenancy, unless there’s a break clause.
The amount of notice they need to give depends on the tenancy agreement, if there is one. Otherwise, it’s usually at least 4 weeks (if they pay weekly) or 1 month (if they pay monthly).
You and your tenant can end a tenancy at any time if you both agree.

Part of your issue, OP is that you want certainty, and you aren't going to get that. Asking on AIUB may get you good advice but it's going to be mixed in with so many people who don't really have any idea, haven't read your posts properly, or just aren't that good at thinking, that you will find it hard to parse out the good stuff. Asking in legal may be better if you've spent some time there reading and know who are the voices to listen to. But there will always be a possibility that you've missed out a vital bit that you didn't realise was important that means that, on the day, the court decides differently than expected.

You could try seeing if Citizen's Advice or some kind of uni legal clinic could give you advice after looking at your contract. But where there is ambiguity, there is probably room for uncertainty.

I haven't looked at these closely, but they may be a jumping off point:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/contact-us/contact-us/contact-us/

https://www.lawworks.org.uk/solicitors-and-volunteers/get-involved/pro-bono-clinics

When did your agreement start? Do you have a lock on your door?

Thank you everyone that posted your advice.

In a bit of a panic I decided to pay a solicitor (online) to read through the whole contract. He confirmed my interpretation was correct and that she has no legal basis to keep hold of my deposit. He also said if I can’t solve it amicably the only way I can get it back is to take her to the small claims court.

Thanks again.

A query Here hopefully someone can help me..is it mandatory for landlord to take pro rata rent in last payment or even that’s case by case..