Help with getting back tenancy deposit from dishonest landlord

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Hello

I'm after some advice for getting our deposit back from our landlord. We were there for a year and the property is an average 4 bed house.

We moved out a month ago and left the property in the same condition we found it in, bar a few small scuffs to walls and crack induction hob glass top (don't ask, we put a pan on the hob and it cracked!).

We offered £200 towards the induction hob when it happened (2 months ago) but he wanted £1200, so we agreed to resolve the matter when we moved out.

The deposit is £4,000 and he has refused to return any of it. It's held in an insured tenancy protection scheme and we are raising a dispute which he agrees is the best way forward.

Couple of issues I'm worried about. You have to ask for the deposit back and wait 10 days before raising the dispute. We requested our deposit over email, but didn't send a formal letter and explicitly set out all of the things below, like stating our address etc. Do we need to send a letter like the one below? Also the request for the deposit to be retuned was just sent by me and not DH who is on the tenancy agreement (come to think of it, it's just his name on there).

What must a letter to request return of tenancy deposit contain?
A letter to request return of tenancy deposit must contain:

• The name and address of the tenant sending the letter;
• The name and address of the landlord or letting agent;
• The details of the property;
• The date on which the tenant vacated the property;
• The deposit amount; and
• Tenant's preferred method of payment.

Secondly, the landlord did the inventory report himself. We asked for a third party one (verbally, via the agent so no record), but he insisted he use his one which he's written on a Word doc listing all rooms, items etc. Almost everything said 'Like New' or 'Very Good Condition' next to it. We had big time constraints moving in and so I did a cursory look round and sent him a note saying there were actually quite a few marks on the walls and a broken fridge door, but other than that, I signed and agreed his inventory report. He didn't supply and photos and we foolishly only took a few.

He's now claiming all sorts of damage - like a ceiling replacement because of a rainwater leak. There was some water damage to the ceiling (flat roof) when we moved in, but there's no reference to it in the inventory report, and so the landlord wants to charge us for the repairs because we failed to report a leak. (There wasn't any leaking while we lived there).

He's also charged out for his own time at £200 per day for labour to repair everything etc.

So my big questions are, do we need to send the formal letter to request the deposit and, do we have a leg to stand on because we signed his inventory report (He's now produced a raft of photos taken before we moved in as 'evidence' but no photos of the ceilings and he didn't attach these photos to the inventory report).

This depends on how bad the crack is and where it is. Sometimes it isn't safe to just replace the glass.

Induction. A Which best buy from IKEA

And they've just reduced it to £279!

https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/matmaessig-induction-hob-ikea-300-black-10467093/

I'm going through the dispute system too. It's such a long, tedious process! I moved out months ago and am still awaiting a final outcome.

I emailed the landlord several times and received no reply (no formal letter but in hindsight I should have sent one). I also asked for a breakdown of costs and was refused this so used this as part of my complaint. There should be some allowance for normal wear and tear. I had pictures from the when we moved in and also on leaving the property. They are both virtually identical so my landlord is taking the biscuit by trying to keep my whole deposit.

I was awarded some money back as was the landlord but the dispute is still ongoing for the rest of the amount.

Thank you!!

Yeah - he’s trying to pull a fast one. Send the formal letter requesting deposit returned and go through arbitration. He won’t get nearly what he’s asking for. And only entitled to a proportion of the cost of the hob

Appreciate the advice and experiences from everyone. We're going through the process ... it's slow and painful!

Hello, we had an update today from the company holding our deposit. They say the landlord has not consented to the alternative dispute resolution service (which is odd because it was his idea to go down that route in the first place).

Apparently they will now hold on to our deposit for another 6 months or until the landlord has provided proof he has initiated court proceedings. They will then pay out the deposit according to the court order.

It seems ridiculous that our deposit can be tied up for another 6 months. Has anyone been through this and why would landlord choose court (presumably the small claims court?) rather than the ADR?

Have you spoken to the deposit protection service yourself to check this

No, but that's a good point. I will contact them.

The email we received was from MyDeposits, the company that our landlord used to register our deposits with. They are holding the funds.

Same here. I bought my induction hob in 2010 it was well over 1000 and I broke it. Very sad and it will cost 1500 to replace now. If a tenant did it I would expect full cost of replacement- not something towards it.
but I’ve had an awful greedy landlord who cheated as a normal way of her living. Hugely wealthy with a property company. The deposit scheme upheld part of her claim even though I had photos to prove everything. She did the checks herself rather than use a third party.
here’s an example- the carpets had lots of moth holes. Loads. This was all noted and photographed and she charged the tenant before us. We lived there for 6 months. When we left she said there were some extra moth holes! So nothing to do with us and nothing happened to the awful carpet when we were there but she managed to get money from me and the previous tenant. That’s just one example. There are loads

I’ve been through this recently. Got my full deposit returned in the end, plus compensation.

I would say the landlord refusing to go through MyDeposits arbitration scheme will look very bad on him should he go to court. Deposit schemes are tightly regulated and the arbitration process is very thorough.

OP - where is the LL uploading his evidence - to MyDeposits?

He should have uploaded his evidence to MyDeposits, but I don’t think he has because we can’t see anything when we log on.

if he has refused ADR (he’s the one who suggested it!) then he won’t have bothered to upload his evidence. He may have been able to access ours though so that gives him some advantage. Though I think he’d have to disclose all his evidence before we get to court.

I will call MyDeposits tomorrow to find out more. What I don’t understand is that their email says the Landlord needs to start court proceedings now, not the tenant. But why would he if he’s kept the deposit? Does he need to obtain a court order for MyDeposits to return it to him?

Yes I think he'll need the court order, if it goes in his favour, to get the money out of MyDeposits... so they are holding it in case that happens.

If you have evidence he suggested something that they now say he didn't consent to... I'd send them that evidence!

Thanks for the advice to date. Our landlord is taking us to court - he now has to get a court order for MyDeposits to release our deposit to him. Can anyone help with template defence forms? I really have no idea how to word our defence.

Have you spoken to the Citizen's Advice Bureau?

Shelter is also a good charity to speak to about your rights.

You need to speak to these organisations about how your landlord rented this property to you. Did the landlord take all of the correct and legal steps to set up the tenancy? Did they provide you with a How to Rent book? Did they protect your deposit within 14 days of receiving it? All of these things matter because if they didn't protect it within 14 days you can claim 3 times the amount back.

Speak to CAB and Shelter and see if they can help. Don't ask on here as your case has escalated and you need expert advice.