UK Landlord Forum / Life

Our tenants moved out, after being served notice.  They have left a lot of damage to the property and taken items. Not cleaned...etc etc. An independent company has been in to complete the inventory, and have given an estimate of the damage / replacement costs on the property. (More than the actual deposit)  the deposit was lodged within the correct time period when they moved in.
This property was fully managed. The agent has written to the tenants telling them that we, the landlord will be claiming against them.
Our predicament...and this is where we need advice.

The Agency has said that they have written to the tenants.
The tenants have not replied.
Because they (tenants) have not acknowledged/admitted/ made any response , to the Agency, we are unable to get any of the deposit back!
We have asked, what is the point in taking a deposit, if we can't claim against it.
The Agency have advised us that we will now need to take them to court to get any if the costs from the deposit.
This doesn't seem right, and so am looking for help.
Are the Agency correct in saying that because the tenant has not replied,  we are unable to deduct any costs from them.
If we don't take them to court, the Agency has also said that the deposit with his just remain with the company holding the deposit...
thank you in advance.

No, that does not seem right.

Where/how is the deposit secured? Did you secure the deposit, or did they agent do it? The whole point of securing the deposit with a scheme is so landlords/tenants can take advantage of an impartial adjudicator via the scheme to settle any disputes. There's no need to go to court!

Your agents seem a bit dodgy.

The law may have changed,but some years ago I had a similar situation.I seem to recall the agents had to wait a stated length of time (around 6 weeks I think) before applying to have the deposit released to me.I did get it in full,but like you it did not cover the arrears or the extensive damage.I don't think your agents have got their facts straight.

Quote from: Landladdy on February 12, 2017, 11:43:03 PMOur predicament...and this is where we need advice.

The Agency has said that they have written to the tenants.
The tenants have not replied.
Because they (tenants) have not acknowledged/admitted/ made any response , to the Agency, we are unable to get any of the deposit back!
We have asked, what is the point in taking a deposit, if we can't claim against it.
The Agency have advised us that we will now need to take them to court to get any if the costs from the deposit.
This doesn't seem right, and so am looking for help.
Are the Agency correct in saying that because the tenant has not replied,  we are unable to deduct any costs from them.
If we don't take them to court, the Agency has also said that the deposit with his just remain with the company holding the deposit...
thank you in advance.

The Agency is either doing too much, or too little - it's gotten confused. I cannot see why the Agency would need to write to the ex-Tenants, unless they are charging you for the privilege? When the deposit is protected in a scheme, the Agent or Landlord can initiate a claim at the end of the tenancy. The scheme then takes over and you would follow their terms and conditions. When a deduction is requested by a Landlord / Agent that would all be done via the Deposit Scheme's site - and it is the Deposit Scheme that would write to the Tenants. I've never had to write myself saying I want to deduct £X from the deposit - I just enter that into the DPS's (for me) website and the process commences.

Note that one of the parties can "play dead" (which seems to be happening here, but possibly the Agent is muddying the waters?) and if that happens then your deposit still doesn't go into some kind of perpetual Limbo - for example, the DPS website says - "Please note that if no response is received from the other party, the deposit will remain with The DPS until a Single Claim is made or a Court Order is received."

So you can claim against it, but you need to follow the process - whatever happens, you can't just raid it.

What I think you need to know is what has actually been done on your behalf by the Agent. If they're wasting everyone's time writing letters, then why? From the way you've described it (which I accept may be wrong) then the Agent is getting involved in things they need not be, e.g. - "Because they (tenants) have not acknowledged/admitted/ made any response , to the Agency, we are unable to get any of the deposit back!"

That said - you are likely asking for the entire deposit - so you've given the ex-Tenants no incentive to play ball. What does it matter to them - they may as well ignore you.