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Original poster

Landlord wants more deposit because i'm pregnant! Can he do this???

31 replies

tunise · 01/05/2010 15:32

Hi, i don't know if anyone can advise me?
We have 3 children and i'm 5 months pregnant with number 4. We have rented from the same private landlord for over 5 years and lived in 2 of his different properties.
During a routine inspection last week i mentioned the (quite obvious) pregnancy. Today we have received a letter from the landlords company, saying that he has concerns "that with the arrival of a new baby there will be 2 adults and 4 children living there, which will consequently add to increased wear and tear." and
"We will be seeking an extra deposit of £400 due to the current deposit being insufficient to cover any issues at checkout. This can be paid in installments."
At the moment he holds a deposit of around 1 months rent, which we paid at the beginning of our first tenancy.
Is he allowed to now demand a larger deposit?? He also says that Notice to vacate will also be served unless we agree to the above. I cant magic £400 up and with maternity leave coming up am going to be stretched already.
I intend to seek legal advice next week but wanted to see if anyone knows what my position is as i will be stressing over the weekend.
many thanks x

OP posts:
Original poster
tunise · 01/05/2010 18:37

Bump please. I know it's not very exciting for a Saturday evening!

OP posts:
FabIsGoingToGetFit · 01/05/2010 18:41

I have no idea if he can do this but I would be interested in his answer if you ask how much wear and tear a new born brings.

expatinscotland · 01/05/2010 18:43

Have you tried contacting Shelter? I'm sorry this is happening to you.

skihorse · 02/05/2010 11:22

Get tae fuck! How much wear and tear does he expect this baby to be doing?

ABitBatty · 02/05/2010 11:33

What a tosspot. Deposits aren't supposed to cover wear and tear anyway, they are for damaged things or things missing at the end of the tenancy. He is discriminating against you because you are pregnant, which you could do him in court for. Go to your nearest CAB - it's free

bumpybecky · 02/05/2010 11:34

I'm no expert but am outraged by this!

I thought normal wear and tear was allowed anyway and should not be deducted from the deposit. What does your original contract say?

Definately contact Shelter, hope they can help

thehillsarealive · 02/05/2010 11:38

where do you live? how much rent do you pay? How big is the house, 2 adults, 4 children so at least a 3 bed house. Is he trying in a round about way to tell you that he wants you out?

Get yourself to CAB first thing on Tuesday (bank hol in England Monday) and you will find out that he cannot do this.

Cheeky bastard that he is. He cant just serve you notice either.

monkeysavingexpertdotcom · 02/05/2010 11:40

bump anyone got a definitive answer for tunise? I don't.

monkeysavingexpertdotcom · 02/05/2010 11:40

Sorry, appalling grammar. I don't HAVE an answer.
Bump again

tethersend · 02/05/2010 11:47

Your deposit should be held with the Deposit Protection Scheme- it is now a legal requirement.

Whilst your previous deposit may be with the landlord (may have been paid pre-legislation), any future deposit you pay is subject to this new legislation.

If you pay any further deposit, you need to be provided with an up-to-date inventory AFAIK. Contact DPS as they may be able to help you further.

TerraBella · 02/05/2010 15:39

Hi Tunise

badgering you for extra deposit is likely to give them a number of legal difficulties.
i hope you have a written agreement/tenancy as that will be something your lawyer will ask you for next week.

it sounds as if they are
a. breaking the contract terms
b. being overtly sexist (very illegal)
c. have no idea what they are doing.

get to CAB or a solcitor asap. if you are on benefits do not forget to take all that stuff with you too, so they can assess for legal aid.

good luck, and i think you will be ok.

darcymum · 02/05/2010 15:52

Hi I have been trying to get the law changed on this paticular issue or rather the fact that landlords can and do discriminate against people with children. I am not sure about demanding more deposit from you but in 99% of cases (unless people have a very very old tenancy agreement) a landlord doesn't need a reason to give you notice. The law seems very much in the landlords favour.

I have started a petition about discrimination against children by landlords, please sign it- petitions.number10.gov.uk/Childlands/

Geni · 02/05/2010 22:52

Hi Tunise,
This is clearly sex (pregnancy) discrimation as well as a breach of contract. The fact that your landlord put it in writing puts you in the strongest possible position legally. I'd advise you to phone www.equailityhumanrights.com. They should be able to give you free advice over the phone. Or as TerraBella said go to a CAB. I'd tend to advoid a solicitor as you shouldn't need to pay anyone. Good luck!

expatinscotland · 02/05/2010 22:54

There is also no guarantee that, if and after you give him an additional £400, he won't still serve you notice.

lou031205 · 02/05/2010 23:11

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Your landlord has just given you proof of direct and automatic sex-discrimination. CAB on Tuesday.

darcymum · 03/05/2010 12:09

tunis, can you please get in touch with me and let me know how you get on with this as it is just the sort of case that strengthens my argument for changing the law. My email address is cathyrichathotmaildotcom. I have been in touch with the Equality and Human Rights Commission about landlords discriminating against pregnant women and children saying that this is sex discrimination as it would disproportionately affect women. They disagreed and said it is the child being discriminated against not the women (which they seemed to think was fine!) I haven't finished with them yet though and will be in touch with them again after the election. Please get in touch.

ChequeredFlag · 03/05/2010 12:19

Darcymum; "in 99% of cases (unless people have a very very old tenancy agreement) a landlord doesn't need a reason to give you notice" - I thought they could only give you notice if they were intending to sell the property or live in it themselves, is this incorrect?

10poundstogo · 03/05/2010 12:42

Chequredflag if you have an assured shorthold tenancy, which nearly all private renters have, then the landord can give notice at any time (to end after the initial fixed term of 6 months) for whatever reason, as long as the notice is in accordance with the terms of the contract - usually 1 month.

on the deposit front, I wouild read the contract terms carefully - do they allow this? If not then the only way he could make you stump up would be by serving you notice to end the tenancy and reletting the property to you - depends on who has got the balls to hold out longest - will he risk the expense of reletting the proprty or not? Not a great prospect when pregnant. See if a talking to by shelter or a sloicitor at a law centre might shut him up, dont envy you, let us know how it goes

onadietcokebreak · 03/05/2010 12:46

No futher advice except CAB and Shelter.

furious on your behalf....

Original poster
tunise · 04/05/2010 12:18

Thank you all so much for your advice and support.
I have tried phoning shelter several times but they are always busy so i have a appointment at citizens advice wednesday morning and will update from there.
Darcymum- i will get directly in touch with you soon.
In answer to a question asked, it is a average size 3 bedroom house, we pay £840 a month which is at the higher end of the local average. It will be a squeeze when the baby arrives as the 3rd bedroom is a boxroom but we were planning for baby to sleep in our room for at least the first 6 months and then to move anyway. The landlord does not know this was our eventual plan.
Am quite disgusted with it all and it has really added extra stress that we dont need at the moment. And how much damage or wear and tear can a non mobile baby cause anyway?!!

OP posts:
cestlavielife · 04/05/2010 16:36

pukes on the carpet/furniture?

agree is a bit excessive, hope you get good advice on how to repsond from CAB.

Original poster
tunise · 05/05/2010 12:58

Have been to CAB, who were not sure of our legal position and will look into it and get back to us soon but they did seem to think that we might either want to come to an agreement of how much extra deposit to pay or start looking for a new house!So not really holding out much hope . Have also emailed shelter's ask a question service but that can take up to 5 days to get a reply from. Any further advice on what i could do woulld be gratefully received.

OP posts:
msrisotto · 05/05/2010 13:03

I'm a reallynice landlord and am outraged for you! General wear and tear is not what the deposit is for and if you fix things that have broken or replaced stuff then there's nothing he needs the deposit for. You may not leave any damage which needs funds removed from the deposit. What a bastard. Hope CAB help you.

darcymum · 05/05/2010 13:10

I think as the law stands your best bet is to look for somewhere else to live. Try to contact the Equality and Human Rights Commision though see what they say, link here

Good luck and do let us know how you get on.

Catkinsthecatinthehat · 06/05/2010 19:05

It might be worth posting a query on the LandlordZone forum on residential lettings - they are happy to take questions from both tenants and landlords and there are a lot of knowledgeable people on there.

www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=3