UK Landlord Forum / Life

hi

i am trying to fill out the prescribed information to give my tenant (i have 1 day left before 30 days are up!)

i have used the dps insured scheme. in section (f) it says: "Circumstances when all or any part of the deposit may be retained by the Landlord: Refer to the following Clause(s) [please insert relevant clause reference below] of the tenancy agreement:"

i cannot find a clause in the ast contract i have used with regards to reasons for the retaining of the deposit. can i write them on the prescribed information form? and do you have some clauses i can use?

also what if the tenant doesn't have an address to use once the tenancy has finished?

i need help quick!!!

Your AST surely says that deposit will be used against damages, paying unpaid bills etc? 

As for the address, obviously they don't know their next residential address, I always ask for 'Your mum's address so I can forward any post etc' when in reality I want the address so it's easier to find them if I need to once they've scarpered.

hi thanks for your prompt reply!

as far as i can see in my contract the only clause refering to the deposit says: "To pay to the Landlord or Landlords Agent on the signing of this agreement the deposit aforementioned as security towards the Tenants liabilities hereunder including dilapidations and the Tenant agrees that the said sum shall be applied in the payment of any sums payable by the Tenant hereunder (including compensation for dilapidations) which shall not have been paid at the end of the Tenancy (whether it shall have been determined by the application of time or otherwise) provided that nothing herein shall absolve the Tenant from the obligation to pay renal and outgoings for which he is liable as and when the same become due during the Tenancy and the Landlord will account to the Tenant within a reasonable period of time of the formal determination of this Agreement for the expenditure of the said deposit and for any balance which may remain after all liabilities above referred have been discharged and so that the Tenant shall remain fully responsible for such liabilities to the extent that the deposit is insufficient to meet the same."

is this any good?

also can i serve the PI by email?

The clauses you can refer to are the clauses you want... or sections. In the DPS form I had always put - "Any accidental or deliberate damage caused by the Tenant(s) or their guests, not including wear-and-tear. AST sections 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 and 5.1."

Those sections of the AST then contained all the clauses you'd normally see, like Use of the Property, Repairs and Alterations, Other Tenant(s) Responsibilities etc..

The DPS form allows you to put "Not known" in the next address. MyDeposits does not.

You will want it signed, ideally.

hi hippogriff

thanks for your help

as far as i understood the clauses you listed, do not mention anything about the deposit in the contract. is that correct?

thanks a mill

The AST itself says something like - "The Tenant(s) pay(s) the Deposit as security for their performance of the Tenant's Obligations and to pay and compensate the Landlord for any breach of the Tenant's Obligations." - at the very front. Try to write yourself some kind of catch-all clause for the DPS document.

sorry for my ignorance, so can i write the catch all phrase on the dps PI document now? as the AST is already signed almost a month ago...?

Sure.

You'd've been better doing them all at the same time... for obvious reasons.

Can they ever argue, at the end of the tenancy, that the deposit is 'the last month's rent' - particularly if they fail to vacate and hand in the keys and a Section 8 with clause 8 is applied for by saying 'we don't owe two month's rent because one of those months is held as the deposit'?

No they couldn't : they might have gotten away with it in some circumstances in the bad old days before deposit protection  but now it's clear cut: the deposit is the deposit and the rent is the rent.