Ex removing deposit from family home

[notjustamother]

Hi wondered if anyone can help ...

Me and ex (kids dad) lived together up until end of last year.

He moved out and the tenancy was changed from joint both of us to just my name on the tenancy agreement. The tenancy deposit had been secured with DPS in both of our names and hasn't been changed to just my name.

Ex has messaged landlord asking to be repaid the full amount. Landlord has contacted me to see what's going on - ex hasn't said anything to me.

Am I right in assuming because the tenancy scheme is in both in our names he's entitled to half back? I have called DPS and they said I needed to seek legal advice. Money for the deposit came from my own personal bank. I don't have the large sum to pay out nearly £3k for if it's the full amount to top it back up and I guess me and the kids are at risk of loosing our house.

If it came from your bank account did your ex ever explicitly give you money to cover some or all of the deposit amount? If not, then explain to the landlord that you personally put up the deposit money and not your ex, showing a copy of the payment from your bank account if you wish, and therefore nothing should be paid to him. If the tenancy is still running then nobody is entitled to the deposit back anyway, it gets released at the end of the tenancy.

Wow, he'd try to make his own children homeless?
As far as the landlord is concerned, he's in a difficult position.
You need to flag up to him straightaway that you paid the whole deposit, and you don't agreed that any of it should be released to your ex. However the landlord may be obliged to hold it in behalf of you both, depends what the paperwork said.
The 'LL may need to take legal advice .
Th e L L might agree to return half to ex, and waive the rest, if you are a good tenant. It's expensive to remarket, and L L might take that into account.
But in no circumstances should the whole deposit be paid over to ex.

Who is down as the lead tenant? I think it should be paid back to the lead tenant and back to the account it came from. In my own experience as a landlord this is always the way it has been automatically done.
I would ignore your ex's demands but ensure both landlord and deposit scheme know you don't permit any of it to be returned to the ex and show evidence of the account (yours) it was paid from stating if anything is returned it must be to the same account.

Legally it should always go back to the lead tenant at the time when the deposit was paid. I had a right fight with my agency about this because I paid the money from my bank account and was the lead tenant, but they “updated” their internal version of my tenancy agreement to put my ex first, as they “used a male first standard where possible”. eventually I got it all back!

The tenancy agreement cannot change from joint to single names, there has to be a surrender of the tenancy. You need to establish whether the tenancy was surrendered by your ex by giving the landlord notice in writing. This is the first thing you need to establish. If he didn't the original tenancy is still in operation despite anything the agency might think or say. If that is the case, the deposit should remain in the dps in joint names.

So ex didn't officially give written notice but he did speak to the landlord through text, the tenancy was then rewritten and resigned by us all and ex is the guarantor if that makes a difference?

I haven't heard anything else from ex or landlord at this moment in time, the deposit is still in the scheme so I am hoping ex has perhaps rethought trying to take it?