Being evicted, landlord hasn't protected deposit

[nochurniscream]

We suspected he hadn't but have checked with the schemes listed on Gov.uk and there isn't anything in mine or DH's name.

Am I right in thinking he could now be fined x4 or x3 of our deposit? How do we make this happen? Of course getting our original deposit is most important but I don't want him to get away with this again!

Reading info on Shelter and without info about our deposit the eviction is invalid but we're sick of dealing with our landlord so this will give us the push we need to move.

The flat was not cleaned before we moved in nor was there an inventory

(Suspect we're being evicted because I've been pushing him to sort some problems he's promised to do for three years)

We went to see a place last week and God it was awful. Advertised as newly decorated but it was filthy, poorly maintained and the estate agent couldn't give us the most basic of info about it... And all for £1300. So very not looking forward to flat hunting!

call shelter and go through it in detail, they will offer you much more specific advice to your particular situation.

Ime in order to get x3 times your deposit you have to go to the small claims court, it is not something that happens automatically unfortunatelly.

What i did when my ll from hell failed to protect the deposit was to hire a solicitor, it was money well spent since the deposit was considerably more than the solicitors fee and i didnt havd to deal with that crazy person anymore.

take no prisoners, he has broken the law and you WILL get 3 x the deposit back.

this is a revenge eviction, it will be outlawed in a few months but as you note, why continue to pay money to a crook for a dump? As you also note, you don't actually have to go, but the same applies.

here is a landlordzone thread on the subject: despite what you read on here, decent landlords also hate crooked landlords so you will see here support for you in your position.

www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?48092-Claiming-for-unprotected-deposit-and-compensation

and here (more recent) is Sheffield council's info on it - you don't need to be in Sheffield of course!

www.sheffield.gov.uk/in-your-area/housing-services/private-sector-housing/private-landlords/tenancy-relations/tenants-advice/protected-deposit.html

Thanks all

specialsubject - you've offered me advice before, thanks Will have a read

Definitely want to pursue it!

go go go!!!!

Derailing specialsubject - are the Tories planning to outlaw "revenge evictions" too? I thought it was just a Labour proposal.

Originally proposed by LibDem Sarah Teather (who didn't contest the election), kicked out and then revived, the bill went through before the election and is now awaiting royal assent. Nothing to do with labour - Milliband's rental sector proposals made in the campaign were all already in existence, it was smoke and mirrors.

so everyone will soon be entitled not to be evicted from a dump run by a crook. The idea of course is to enforce repairs but crooked landlords won't do them; why should they? Decent landlords will never have the issue, but crooked tenants may well be able to use it to delay/prevent eviction by endlessly reporting non-existent repairs.

England only - not Wales.

To be clear OP - as long as you fill the paperwork in correctly for the court there is no if and buts, you WILL get 3x deposit (and deposit) back in full. It will however take about 8 weeks, but you can start it now. Dont let the LL scare you into not doing it.
PS Im a LL too and theses sort of LLS have to be stopped, for the law abiding LLs and for the tenants sakes.

Thanks Sunny

We only received notice today and have two months

Should i do as you and SS has suggested now, before waiting to see whether LL will give me my deposit back?

I mean - does he have to refuse for me to start the process?

And do we need to ask him for the proof for the deposit (even though we know he doesn't have it)?

He has to provide it even if you dont ask for it. The burden is on him.

And DH has just made the point about references...

So in summary, I'm wondering what way round to do all this!

We got our notice today
Dh checked with deposit schemes today
We have not responded to the email about our notice

Dh is saying we should acknowledge the notice and ask for info regarding where our deposit is held

Is he right?

(Point about references being we need a new place to live so I presume need a reference for our new landlord!)

You can start the action whenever you like, so if you had discovered in month 2 that it was not protected you could started the court procedure then.

You dont need to ask where your deposit is, he should have told you in writing within 28 days of you moving in.

You dont need to tell him youre starting the court action (he will obviously find out though when the court send him your request - for him to defend).

The reference is a problem, but you should explain to the agents you visit why you dont get on and offer a previous landlord or more personal references? Honesty is the key, not having all boxes 100% ticked!

Good luck. I got my deposit back x 3 by taking it to court.

Ok thank you

Will try and wrap my head around all of those forms!

After renting from a hellish landlord i explained to the next one that i didnt want to provide a reference from them since they were dishonest etc, so my new ll accepted bank statements showing that we did pay the rent in time every month.

I wouldn't worry about the reference; just show the info regarding you taking the current landlord to court for non-protection of deposit and that tells the new landlord your problem instantly. Any decent landlord will entirely sympathise. Any non-decent landlord won't, so that's easy too.

Thanks both

Am booking in viewings for new places and will start paperwork soon

I second going to Shelter - they are amazing & really know their stuff. I know this isn't your main priority at a time like this, but in the spirit of not letting this landlord rip off another tenant, do please leave a review on rentalraters.com (a website I set up) to warn others.
I do hope you get this sorted. I've experienced this first hand and know what a nightmare it can be.

Well I am already hugely depressed by our search. Seen two, had two cancelled last minute. The two we have seen - dirty, tatty, expensive. Can't believe the state properties are in. But I get the feeling they will ALL be like this. We just need to choose the least worst I suppose. Last one was really big though and the estate agent suggested we send a list of requests with any offer - asking for carpets to be cleaned, shower thing replaced etc. there was a patch on the ceiling in the living room that looked damp but the agent said it was fixed. Would be good if they could tidy it up!

Thanks flamingnora - I called shelter earlier and they confirmed our notice to leave is invalid because our deposit hasn't been protected, but we're keen to leave anyway. But we don't need to rush I suppose. A friend told me about your website- I will take a look. Think you're a friend of a friend of a friend of hers or something

sounds like the good ones went quickly, as they do, and unsurprisingly the dirty/tatty/expensive ones are still available. No, they won't ALL be like that - and you certainly shouldn't rent the ones that are!

I'd take that mention of fixed damp with a large pinch of salt.

look at rentals as if you were buying them, then remember you are dependent on the landlord to actually do any fixes. Still want it?

specialsubject - these have only come on the market in the last two or three days, and one of the cancelled ones has gone already after being on for not long

If we were buying (I wish) I would allow for things like damp and tatty stuff because I would make an offer based on then fixing the place up and making it lovely

I completely agree with you on all your points though. We have five viewings on Saturday

sounds like you are in a lively area for rentals - but there's no need to drop your standards. In fact there is EVERY need not to do so.

something will come up - happy viewing! And my usual advice, check the obvious about gas safe, deposit protection (!!), does everything work, how's the insulation, do you like the area and neighbours and all the other things. Also if you want to be there a while, find out if it is a buy to let or the landlord's own place. If the former, they won't be moving back in.

West London, specialsubject DH is feeling twitchy about missing out on the big, light place we saw today but I'm hopeful. The viewings we have lined up this weekend should give us an idea of whether we have any chance of somewhere half decent!