why no deposit returned at the end of the tenancy?

[Siw2020]

For context - we are a young professional couple and our jobs mean moving around the country every year. Have been renting for over 10 years with no issues in the past - think I have had the full deposit returned everytime.

This time, have moved out over 2 months ago and been very patient/compliant with e-mailing the letting agency etc (probably too patient hence why 2 months have passed..) but starting to get a bit annoyed about this now. Agency struggling to get hold of landlord and suggested to requesting deposit repayment with the scheme they use which I have done a few days ago.

On my account just says 'awaiting landlord response' as I have ofcourse requested for 100% of the deposit back. Flat was left in the exact same condition.

Anyone been in this situation before? New to me, so not sure what to expect

The deposit should have been put in a registered deposit scheme, legally they have to be. Ask the agent for details of which scheme it’s in. Maybe you can contact the scheme?

The op literally states they have done that?!

Op, i would contact the scheme and ask how long they five the landlord to respond. It'll probably be in the t&cs somewhere.

It can take some time. The tenant submits evidence, the landlord is given a chance to respond and provide evidence, then the tenant has the opportunity to respond before it goes to adjudication. If the landlord waits until the deadline to reply and you dispute what they say, it could take the full 28 days to go through the process.

@orangenasturtium

It can take some time. The tenant submits evidence, the landlord is given a chance to respond and provide evidence, then the tenant has the opportunity to respond before it goes to adjudication. If the landlord waits until the deadline to reply and you dispute what they say, it could take the full 28 days to go through the process.

Aw man.. sounds like a ballache

@Bufferingkisses

The op literally states they have done that?!

Op, i would contact the scheme and ask how long they five the landlord to respond. It'll probably be in the t&cs somewhere.

Apologies, I’m dyslexic and although I could have sworn I’d read all the OP I missed that.....happens quite a bit.

You should have done this from day one. The LL has so lo go to respond (2 weeks?). If they don't, the money is released I believe.

That’s not on. The landlord has to release the money within 30 days of the tenancy ending or make a claim (I believe). Both of which I don’t think have been done so really I would ask the scheme why they haven’t released the money.

@dontdisturbmenow

You should have done this from day one. The LL has so lo go to respond (2 weeks?). If they don't, the money is released I believe.

The correct procedure is that the tenant should formally request the deposit back in writing and the landlord should return it or come back with deductions they want to make within 10 days of the request or 10 days of agreeing deductions, unless they have good reason not to be able to meet that deadline e.g. they need extensive quotes for work needed to repair damage or you can't agree on deductions and are in negotiations with them. If you can't agree on deductions or they don't respond/refund the deposit within 10 days, then you can raise a dispute with the deposit schemes or go to court if the disagreement is about something the deposit scheme can't adjudicate on.

Update: heard back from agency - landlord has supposedly "requested a quote for an item" which he is looking to propose deductions from the deposit for. No idea what this item could be as everything was in working order. Agency have said they'll get back in touch as soon as they have more info..

Was there an inventory done at the start and a move out inspection when you left @Siw2020? Any issues should have been highlighted in the move out report.

Even if there wasn't, there really isn't any excuse for not telling you there was an issue before now. Two months is too long, it should have been done within days of move out, even if getting quotes takes a long time (although 2 months is too long for that too). It won't help the landlord's case with the deposit scheme if they didn't do a move out check and it wasn't raised until now. Any number of people could have been in the property in the past 2 months. Did you take photos when you left?

I would be asking the landlord to provide dated photos to prove it was like that when you vacated. I believe, if the photos aren't original (eg sent in a document or a pdf), the deposit scheme considers them to be on the date the landlord/tenant claims, so make sure you ask.

@orangenasturtium

Was there an inventory done at the start and a move out inspection when you left *@Siw2020*? Any issues should have been highlighted in the move out report.

Even if there wasn't, there really isn't any excuse for not telling you there was an issue before now. Two months is too long, it should have been done within days of move out, even if getting quotes takes a long time (although 2 months is too long for that too). It won't help the landlord's case with the deposit scheme if they didn't do a move out check and it wasn't raised until now. Any number of people could have been in the property in the past 2 months. Did you take photos when you left?

I would be asking the landlord to provide dated photos to prove it was like that when you vacated. I believe, if the photos aren't original (eg sent in a document or a pdf), the deposit scheme considers them to be on the date the landlord/tenant claims, so make sure you ask.

There was an inventory when we moved in. When we moved out, we referred to that and made sure everything was left as it was when we moved in (including the positions etc - eg. they provided us with kitchenware which we didnt use as had our own, but made sure everything was put back how it was presented to us).

The checkout inspection was done some days after we moved out (?due to covid) the letting agency e-mailed to say it was carried out and assume had no concerns as they said something along the lines of they do not propose any deductions etc.

We did not take any photos when moving out (never have done in the past, generally take photos when we move in though).

At the moment, I don't even know what it is they have an issue with/are getting quotes for (letting agency also seem not to know and have said will update us as soon as they have more info).

Just feels like unnecessary stress.

The checkout inspection was done some days after we moved out (?due to covid) the letting agency e-mailed to say it was carried out and assume had no concerns as they said something along the lines of they do not propose any deductions etc.

Then the landlord will find it difficult to claim deductions if the move out check didn't find anything wrong, unless he can show that they missed something. Do you have a copy of the move out report? Do you have the email from the agent that says they don't propose any deductions? you may find that they won't get involved now a dispute has been raised as they work for the landlord so it is a conflict of interest.

You should have the LL’s contract details on your deposit protection certificate - I would suggest contacting him/her directly - if you haven’t already.

Sometimes agents are slow and hopeless, either through incompetence or because they want to hang on to the money for cash flow reasons. I am a LL and one of the reasons we finally ditched our LA was because he was stalling and making excuses for the delay to an extremely good tenant over return of the deposit. The tenant eventually contacted me directly and I had to chase the agent - there had never been any question from my POV for not returning the deposit in full.