Landlord's done a runner with my son's tenancy deposit

[C1210]

My son let's call him Tom and his friend lets call him Bill rented a flat as students for a year from a private landlord. Their tenancy completed about 5 weeks ago. We have been trying to contact the landlord to recover the deposit. We have tried to search on all 3 tenancy deposit schemes and cannot find any trace of it being protected. Also he did not provide incoming or outgoing inventory. He did not provide his contact address. All we have is his mobile no and email address and the bank account details where they have been paying the rent. The last few text messages he claimed to be very ill and in hospital. This has all the hallmarks of a fraudulent landlord. My question is how do we bring a small claims against him if we do not have his address?

Search for the address on the Land Registry website, costs £3 but will give you what should be an up to date address. But I'm not sure what kind of case you'll have against him if it wasn't protected.

If it wasn't protected and he failed to give prescribed information about the deposit a court can award up to 3 times the deposit as well as the return of the deposit.

Have done this. Property is registered to a different name. Have done some research and it seems can claim up to x3 as it is a legal requirement to protect the deposit witin 30days

The deposit should have been held in an Escrow account. It's the law.

Agree it is the law but the law seems useless if you don't have the landlords address as it is needed to make a claim!!!!

Are you sure the person your son was renting from wasn't actually the tenant, and had been subletting? That would account for the property being in a different name. Did they use an agency?

You do have one of the Landlords addresses - the flat your DS rented. Presumably bailiffs could if required strip it.

Report him to the police for theft? They should be able to find him surely?

There's a template letter on this link. You'd have to send it by email.
england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/tenancy_deposit_compensation_claims

Presumably if you progress the claim the landlord could be traced via bank details should all else fail?

@ElinorOliphantIsCompletelyFine my guess is that he is either acting as an agent or was subletting. Not sure how I can find that out. Read somewhere in a case like this where he claimed to be the landlord on the contract would be accountable as a landlord.

@EnriqueTheRingBearingLizard Apparently it seems that even legal professionals do not have the powers to trace a person through bank account details or other such details!!! I find it amazing that they can get away with such fraudulent behaviour!!!!

@Racecardriver. I guess as things stand atm it is worth a try

Aaah I imagined the Courts may be able to if found in your favour. If he was illegally sub letting though, probably a lost cause I'm afraid.

It's my understanding that the Tenancy Agreement should contain the Landlord's permanent address, but if they paid the money over without knowing that, it's an expensive lesson learned. For future reference the law requires not only the deposit to be protected within one of the government approved schemes, but also that the tenants are advised of all the details of that registered protection, the Landlord's ID reference and also the particular reference of this individual deposit within the scheme.

The Landlord should also provide the Tenant with a guide to renting and the advice here
www.gov.uk/private-renting-tenancy-agreements

They obviously didn't do anything they're meant to for a proper tenancy

Is the address of the actual owner local to you? Could the landlord have used a false name with your son and the name on the land registry document be the right name?

@EnriqueTheRingBearingLizard yes everything that could possibly go wrong has gone wrong ! But it is even more depressing to think that he can get away with it. Something tells me he knows every trick in the book !! And must be seasoned fraudulent landlord!!! And I don't think my son n his friend are the only to get conned!! Really is a minefield !!!

Is there not some sort of private detective service where they can find people for £120? Sorry that’s a bit vague!

@19lottie82. Yes it has crossed my mind.

Have you been in touch with the owner from the land registry?

@InDubiousBattle there is address on the land registry docs. Just a name. Tried to do Google the name ... But a common name ...nothing comes up.

@EspressoButler His friend Bill had rented the same flat the previous year 2016-17. They had found the place through a letting agents. I have phoned that letting agents and was told that he was with them 'several' years ago. And they couldn't give out details because of GDPR! Was also advised that I should give him more time. But given that he is not responding to emails or texts I don't hold much hope there. I trusted that his friend thought that the landlord was reasonable as he wanted to continue renting. Also it was very difficult to find anything at the time. When my son signed the contract there was no landlord's address or letting agents address. Makes me think it was always his intention to do a runner as he has been very careful to keep his tracks covered. Yes thinking hindsight they should not have paid the last month's rent. Although the deposit was more than the rent but at least that way could cut the losses.

Have they given the keys back? If so who to? Also is it up for rent again? Who with get on to them and threaten to advise new tenants of the scam.

Who/how did your DS pay rent to?

Could you try a GDPR / data protection request against the letting agent for everything relating to your son and his friend? They might still hold an old agreement for the friend with real landlord details on? Although whether they would be allowed to redact details I'm not sure...