To think getting a rental deposit back shouldn’t be so hard and bewildered as to what to do

[SunC10ud]

My son has autism and rented the most awful private property at uni last year. Black mould everywhere including his bedroom to the extent the landlord just chucked machines in there to try to help with the damp and bleached the walls when it got really bad. My son was sleeping in there. The place was filthy when they moved in, really filthy. The boiler wasn’t working the day they moved in. Then the heating went off, ditto hot water and they ended up without a washing machine at various times. He was freezing. So fast forward to moving out. There is a stain on the lounge floor and it was definitely there when they moved in as I commented on it whilst trying to get the place clean. There were stains everywhere. Landlord is refusing to give back £400x3 back because of it. He ignored everything else that they had to put up with and is citing this 1 stain. £1200 for 1 stain! I stupidly didn’t take pictures. We contacted the student letting company and the money is now in a holding company. We really need it and my son is like a headless chicken really not knowing what to do.

Anybody know what to do in this situation, surely getting your own money back shouldn’t be so hard.

It’s none of those only info above which is all we have is a portal on totalproperty.co.uk

Total property use mydeposits

Ok is that good? There is no info on the portal just account details.

I would email the letting agent and ask them to confirm which deposit scheme that your son’s deposit is held with, and what the deposit ID is. With this information you will be able to action the return of the deposit. By what you are describing sound like just the letting agents own portal.

Go to my deposits and try and login there. There’s an option to check if your deposit is with them

Ok will do tonight.

www.mydeposits.co.uk/tenant/

I’m not sure why the student letting agent is suggesting we go into dispute if it’s as easy as that but will do some more on it when I can get into it with DS tonight.

I had this with a DC at Oxford. I had taken photos yet it still took 8 months and the threat of a small claims court (pre changes to law on tenancy) to get the deposits back for 7 people. There are several things parents need to ensure their children do - take dated photos of the state of the property regularly and certainly when mould grows/paint peels off as well as checking that a proper check-in with photographs has been done. Any complaints should be sent by email to the lettings agent or landlord, with photos atttached - my lot lived near it, so used to just drop in or leave notes, so no email trail.

This also needs to be rammed home to students by their unions. Affordable rentals are often in short supply - my DC had to find one for the following year in their first term. They prioritised near clubland over sanitation, easy maintenance, sufficient heating, access to uni etc. Then (the young men especially) they didn't treat it respectfully because it was just a damp, unattractive place with a broken boiler, no double glazing, rats and a tiny garden covered in scaffolding from next door building works. I'm all for students learning how to cope by themselves, but too often it's the parents who pay the deposits.

They might just mean for you to use the DPS portal to ask for your deposit back

So that’s interesting. When i enter the details into my deposits it’s not recognising the property. 🤔

After previously renting in London for many years, I would never take advice on tenancy matters from either a landlord or a letting agent. I have only experienced them making their own rules up. A letting agent is paid for by the landlord and works for the landlord not the tenant. I had to educate myself from Shelter on my tenant rights who are the tenancy experts. They have loads of helpful information on their website. I hope you get your issue sorted x

Well you request it back but the landlord can contest it, then you both provide your evidence. But the landlord has to prove the tenant has done damage beyond wear and tear and what the condition was at the start of the tenancy and can only take what it would cost to correct it, not improve the property. It’s not as simple as the landlord can take what they want, but the dispute resolution thing is useful if tenant and landlord cannot agree.

Your ds should have been given details of the deposit scheme within the first few weeks of the tenancy starting,

It would be quite unusual for a Landlord using a Lettings Agent NOT to have the deposit protected but not impossible.
No need to panic though. Speak to the Agent tomorrow, they should be able to provide details of where the deposit is held but they will probably only tell your son rather than you

Recommend speaking to Shelter if this is your first time disputing a deposit. They've been really helpful in the past at getting my deposit back from a dodgy landlord. Lots of landlords bank on people not pursuing getting their deposit back, so it's easy money for them. In reality, if you challenge them, they'll back down eventually as they have to provide sufficient evidence to support their claims for deduction and very often they don't have it. In the case of the stained carpet, they would have to have a receipt proving the carpet was new or had been professionally cleaned prior to your son moving in.