What should I do? Rental property issues

[rachaelsum]

Really hoping someone can help me with this...

I left my last rental property some months ago and my deposit still has not been returned. My landlord has told me that he intends to keep the entire sum yet has not told me why other than saying its for 'damages'. I left the property in good condition. My deposit is protected.

I never received an inventory when I began my tenancy but have been told that one was done a few weeks before my tenancy began. I also know that a inventory was done when I left, I paid for this, but this was only sent to me several weeks afterwards. He is now pushing for me to sign the exit inventory before letting me know of any deductions. I want to know what the deductions he wants to make so I can agree or disagree.

Where do I stand on this if I simply do not want to sign it because of a) never receiving a copy of the inventory on check in and b) receiving it many weeks after I had departed.
Thanks!

Hi @rachaelsum, we're going to move this thread over to our Legal Matters topic - hopefully there'll be some Mumsnetters around who can give you some advice.

Did he provide you with the prescribed information within 30 days of the commencement of the tenancy?

Did you rent through an agency or privately?
Did the landlord us a deposit scheme (they should have) and which one is it?
Can you contact them?

If your deposit is protected you should have details of it. You should be able to raise a dispute through them, I think the landlord will have to have pretty solid evidence to back up his claims. If you arent aware of which scheme your deposit is with, I would suggest your deposit was never protected and the landlord could be liable.

Your deposit should be in a protection scheme. If there's a dispute about deductions the third party ( scheme where it's held should deal with it. It's basically designed to stop this type of thing happening. Shelter or Acorn also offer advice to renters. I wouldn't sign anything until you're clear on your rights.

If it is in a protected scheme, you need to take the steps to claim the money back. You can do that online.

If it's in a protection scheme the landlord has no say over the decision to keep it.

If he hasn't put it in a protection scheme , he has broken the law and you can take legal action. My sons landlord did this (student house) he was awarded 3x the amount of the deposit.

Did you take pics when you left?

I had this problem a few months ago, landlord was trying to take money for stupid stuff.

I applied to the deposit scheme for the return on my deposit, LL or letting agency then could dispute the return (I guess if they had reasonable requests) however they didn't and it was returned in full.

They are supposed to return the deposit within 10 days

10 days from the time it is requested from the scheme. Agencies/landlords often start the process if they are keen to get over with it as soon as possible, but there is no rules and ultimately, it is not their money to have back, so often will just wait for the tenant to take action.