Tenancy deposit query

[hermesgrrrr]

In dispute with letting agent/landlord. Deposit was protected apart from a two year period that the letting agent is looking into but it's been nearly a week now. Letting agent Allso paid £120 to the landlord from my undisputed deposit without consulting me.

I know I need legal advice but wondered if any layers could give me into on what I can expectt. Emailed letting agent again this morning but still no reply.

Can you contact the deposit protection organisation directly and find out what is going on? It is illegal not to register the deposit with the DPS so I would guess that you contacting them directly might encourage your letting agent to actually start earning their money and get this sorted out pronto. Failing to register a deposit correctly is a big no-no for Landlords and invalidates, for example, their right to issue a Section 21 Eviction Notice. Do check your Landlord is meeting their other legal obligations too, such as annual gas safety checks (you should be provided with copies of the certificates each year as the tenant).

I have never had any disputes with my tenants and none have ever caused damage so I don’t have any experience of withholding deposit but my understanding is that both parties need to be part of the process - I am not sure why your letting agent felt they were within their rights to release £120 without even discussing it with you? Presumably they do not have (or have shared with you) the evidence for the damage to property/fixtures and fittings that this relates to?

Start a dispute immediately with the protection scheme that the deposit is registered with, you should have a copy of the certificate. If the agent holds the deposit, they should have to send it in full to the protection scheme while the dispute is sorted.