renting help!!

[hunnybun1981]

we currently a property but have no lease as the orginal lease was for 1 year old we are way over that now.

when we moved in they got a deposit from us of 500 same amount as rent

we r thinking about moving on is it acceptable just to get them to keep deposit as the last months rent

where do we stand as we have no lease

the property is in better order than when we moved in this is what the issue is it needs a new bathroom/kitchen but we wrote a letter telling them what all we have done to the property etc and we have had to replace all the appliance as they either broke or were just past it.

do we need to leave the new appliance we bought the house was furnished?

god i dont know what to do

we currently a property but have no lease as the orginal lease was for 1 year old we are way over that now.

*does not matter, the contract becomes a 'rolling contract' same rules apply

when we moved in they got a deposit from us of 500 same amount as rent

we r thinking about moving on is it acceptable just to get them to keep deposit as the last months rent,

*no it is not, you agreed to pay the rent, pay it, the deposit is a deposit, you will get it back (with interest) if the place is in good order when you leave

where do we stand as we have no lease

*answered above

the property is in better order than when we moved in this is what the issue is it needs a new bathroom/kitchen but we wrote a letter telling them what all we have done to the property etc and we have had to replace all the appliance as they either broke or were just past it.

do we need to leave the new appliance we bought the house was furnished?

*you need to leave something in place of what was there, if i were you i would have never bought/replaced anything without the landlords say so, now they have you by the balls, i guess you got rid of the landlords appliances?

god i dont know what to do

*can you call the landlord directly? can you ask them where you stand?

Didn't you have a lease in writing when you moved in? If you did, you need to check it as I believe it should contain clauses about the terms on which you may continue to rent the property after the initial rental period of a year came to an end.

If you have no written agreement at all there is still a contract in law as presumably you are still paying rent? However, I don't know what rights you would have in those circumstances, I suggest you get in touch with your local Citizen's Advice Bureau, or, and I'm not totally sure about this, but I think some housing charities like Shelter might be able to help with advice in these circumstances.

GreenOnions is right. You if you had a shorthold tennancy it automatically becomes a rolling contract. CAB will be able to advise you further.

If there was appliances there, there must be appliances there when you move out. (you could think about taking the new ones with you and leaving second hand ones as long as they are the same/better than the originals).

You can't ask the landlord to accept your deposit as the last months rent. It is there to cover any damages/cleaning bills, etc the landlord finds when you move out. If there isn't anything you will get it back.

[double]

thanks for advice girls

do most rental companies not keep the deposit?

as they come up with some random thing that is wrong?

they said to us after a years tenency we would need to sign another contract but we never got round to it and they never posted it out.

in fact they havent been in touch at all.

i didnt keep any of the appliance as they were gross. washing machine broke as did fridge

their seetee was covered in cat hair ( the previous tenant had 4 cats ( even though pets not allowed).

is this a law in england just or does it cover northern .

As far as contacting them they are useless they dont repsond to anything i think i will speak to a solictor as i wouldnt be leaving brand new washer machine/fridge/freezer and a leather suite for them to come along and replace it anyway, when we moved in there was 2 brand new beds but everything else was ancient.

You must have inspected the property as it was with the old appliances/furniture. Any comment should have been made then. It was your decision to buy new.

If it were me I'd take my stuff away with me and get second hand appliances/suite from the local paper and leave those in place.

yes that is what i will do but we are there 3 and half years would a landlord really expect things not to date, i inspected it but i didnt do a wasg or open the fridge so i wasnt to know.

we are in the property 4 years this july.

if you rented the place furnished it was under the landlords remit to replace any broken equiptment, so in theory you shouldnt have done this, as mentioned they have you buy the balls, if you have reciepts you could try for reimbursement but they could then argue they dont know for sure that the appliances provided were broken, im afraid to sya it looks like you are going to loose out. FWIW i rented privately and it was a nightmare, i would recommend going with a good local agency in future as they are more regulated, and provide you with an inventory when youmove in.

this is an agency we are with
bbeingpatient

then they are awful!!! but this gives your more of a leg to stand on as you can approach your local council for help depending on what they say, although easiest (and what i recommend)would be to buy cheap replacements to leave behind, as if they are as shit as they seem they may not even notice, and provided that it works they probably wouldnt care. (i have worked for an estate agents)

If you do not require A reference from them, for fututre properties(this can be avoided by pretending to of lived with a relative etc, or explaining the situation) and you intend to leave within the one months notice (i.e in time not to incur further rental fees), then i would inform them in writing of your intention to move, and just not mention your last months rent in your letter, cancel your direct debit, and assume they will take your deposit as rent. Plead ignorance if you have to!!

once you've left you can write a letter to that effect, you could even write it before you leave, and just date it for the day after your rent is due. Providing that they are happy with the state in which you have left the place i would imagine that they would be happy with this,although may be put out in the delay obtaining the money from the holding account they SHOULD of deposited this money into. They are not out of pocket, at any rate, and if they complain to you about having to wait for the money you can plead ignorance again, and just tell them you cant get the money to them any sooner than they can get it from the holding account (let them say how long it would take before you say you cant get it before x many weeks) although then you would possibly loose intrest accrued on the deposit. YOu could circumvent this however by including in your letter a sentance along the lines of please forward the interest accrued on my deposit to xxx", however this means you would have to give a forwarding address. I would take the oppurtunity in this letter informing them about using your deposit as rent to inform them of the poor service they have provided, and use this as a bartering tool if they give you any problems, as they seem truely shocking! i certainly hope they arent in my local area!

(I should of made it clear that i mean for you to send the letter about your deposit acting as rent after you have left, to arrive to them the day your rent would of been due, basically make sure you are well clear of the place and them before you try and sort this out)

You could even try and charge back to them the cost of the cheaper appliances i.e the ones you left behind, but without firm proof that you contacted them before replacing it all as a last step, you probably wouldnt be successful, so i'd buy as cheap as poss, and chalk that part up to experience.

thanks this helps a lot

the only thing they have ever done is fix a fence that was a boundary between us and the neighbour as it blew down, and even then they only replaced a panel, so the next time it broke the neighbour said to us that there was no point phoning r landlord as the last time they told r neighbour that it was their problem so the neighbour ended up replacing the whole fence.

i didnt write a letter before i purchased the new items i did after to tell them a comprehensive list of what we had done to improve the house.
including changing all the kitchen doors, as they wouldnt replace the kitchen

i suppose they were just happy to get their cash i maybe should have narked them more.

but i am not going to let them take my deposit and the rent no way

so i think if we get the go ahead with this other house i will just go and the house will be scrubbed from top to bottom, and then i will send them the key and a letter recorded delivery stating all that we had done and if their is any interest accured to forward to the guarantor they have their address (which is my mum) could they take her to court or anything?

i dont want her getting any hassle.

i will get a cheap washer machine in but there were 2 old settee's even cheap ones could cost 200 quid what should i do there?

ps we pay r rent a month in advance so if we move really they will get their 28 days notice and we will be out of house

sounds fair with what you've said about just giving them notice, as you'd be paid up to date. they could hassle your mum and as a guarantor i think she would be liable but if you dont owe anything then they cant hastle her(even if they choose to hastle her they are legally on allowed to call once a week), however it might be worth surrendering the interest, depeneding on how much it is( i doubt it'l be much), and then only bringing it up if they come after you via your mum.

i think WRT the sofa, you are a bit screwed as unless it was falling apart they will say it was irrational to replace it in the first place, although legally they are obligede to have had it / they should have ahd it steam cleaned before you moved in for reasons relating to allergy, so i do sympathise. You have a few options:

-If you can prove you complained about the sofa's before you replaced them you could possibly argue you had to get rid of them (allergy reasons/ flea infestations especially if you have children)

-It complicates things having your mum as a gaurantor, as it may well cause trouble for her if you upset them. You could replace everything (cheaper items i mean like washer) and not replace settees and then say in your letter "please use interest accrued on my deposit towards replacing sofa's, as they were in ill repair and infested so had to be removed, i trust that the material costs and costs of labour involved in repairs to the property (insert all repairs/work undertaken here) will cover any shortfall, i can provide you with quotes from contractors to demonstrate this point if neccessary" altho this is likely to go down like a lead ballon, so its not something you can depend on. Did they reimburse you for the repairs materials? if they did then play on the labour involved, most rental agencies will reimburse you so if they didnt it yet again demonstrates there shitness! Have you any charity shops around? or could you look in your local free-ads? It would just be easier for you if you can replace the settee's, even if you only replaced one, it would be something.

• THIS IS THE ONE I'D be inclined to go with : when you moved in did you sign an inventory, to say what property was in the place when you moved in and in what state? if not how can they prove that the settee's were even there? unethical i know but if you havent signed an inventory (if you did you should still have a copy) then i would act like they were never there, because even if they have pics with the sofas in they cant prove they were there when you became a resident!

ok well i am not worried about the interest anyway.

no we didnt sign an inventory at all but in the letter to them i did say that we replaced it.

they didnt pay anything towards anything

this is a list of what we have done

all new kitchen cupboard doors
replaced hall stairs and landing carpet
put down a laminate floor as it smelled of cat pee when we moved in (they had it cleaned but it was still yuk)in childs bedroom this was
replaced electric shower
replaced seetee
replaced washer/fridge freezer
decorated living room/kicthen, all bedrooms ( which i know is just part n parcel with renting)
replaced carpet in bathroom as it wasnt practical and put down vinyl

think that is it

are rent is due next week and i am waiting on a guy getting bk to me about a house but i have an awful feeling this will be going on another month and will have to pay them again.

thanks for all the help

i think you do laundry,

why do you say different?

has it changed?

Who is entitled to interest on the deposit? This should always be the tenant as it is the tenant's money. The lease or rent deposit deed should specify that the landlord should put the money into an account that pays interest and that the interest should be paid to the tenant (usually once every twelve months). The interest should not just be allowed to sit in the deposit account.

please read this hunnybun

If the deposit is held as part of the new keyholder deposit scheme, then interest on it covers the costs of administration so no one gets it.

greenonions thanks that was interesting

if they let us go i am happy for them to keep the deposit as last month rent

we have been good tenants no missed payment and as previously stated kept house in good order

i just begrudge leaving a good leather suite when the one we moved in to was old and shabby

surely landlords do accept wear and tear does happen after 3 and half years

Rent deposits for residential premises are now protected by regulations.

A landlord must join a Tenancy Deposit Scheme and failure to comply with the regulations entitles the tenant to sue for compensation equal to three times the value of the rent deposit.

If there is nothing in writing dealing with the rent deposit then the landlord can put it straight into the bank and spend it.

have you read your original contract?

if it was thought a letting agency i would expect you to have a standard contract and it should say about the deposit somewhere in it

it doesnt say about the deposit. yeh they can spend it i am sure but in this case they will be using it as my last months rent.