UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi everyone,

I would very much appreciate if someone can give me advice on how to proceed and what to do with my ex Landlady.

I have been renting the flat since May 2009 from a private Landlady. Middle of May 2009 I have paid deposit to move into the privately rented flat and 2 days before moving in I have paid a month rent. Since then I have paid my rent by bank transfer every month. My Landlady lived abroad until beginning of this year when she moved back to UK. We've never meat each other until then.

The flat was shown to me by the previous tenant and I was in touch with the Landlady by email only. When I viewed the flat first time, the previous tenant told me that she was in the flat for over 2 years and the she has never seen the Landlady.

For 5 years that I was renting the property Landlady never came to visit the flat and no inventory check was done... ever!

In 2012 I had a first roof leak. A massive one! Water was gashing down the bedroom walls. I got in touch with the Landlady and she promised that she will send someone to have a look at it. It never happened! After 2 weeks of waiting I decided to fix the problem myself and paid for the roof to be fixed. I also repainted the bedroom at my cost. I have tried to recover the money from the Landlady but never received a penny.
A year latter there was another roof leak! I had to pay for the repair myself again! Also, bedroom had to be repainted again! Again I had to pay for everything as the Landlady was not doing anything about it. Now thinking about everything, all I can say is that she probably thought that I will deal with it, which I did... I didn't have any other option...

The electricity packed in and I had no working lights because of the leaks. I've asked for the electricity to be checked and repaired but received no help of any kind. Again, I had to pay for it! I paid on 3 different occasions for the electricians to come out and fix the problem, to be told by the last electrician that rewiring is necessary because of the extensive damage. I lived in the property for 2 years without working lights in the leaving room.

2012 I have asked the Landlady to send someone to inspect the windows as the window frames were so rotten and crumbling that the windows were wobbly and looked very dangerous. I didn't dare to open the windows out of the fear that windows will fall out. A year and a half latter, the end of 2013 the Managing Agent came to inspect the windows and agreed that the windows are in desperate need of repair. I was told it will be done asap. Needless to say... it never happened.

Floor boards very so old and rotten with massive gaps in between the floor boards that I could see the lights in the flat bellow. Any spillage would of been deadly as there was no protection from electrical wiring between 1st floor flat and 2nd floor flat, were I lived. Gaps between the floor boards were between 1 and 2 inches around the flat.

In 2012 boiler packed in... again Landlady didn't do anything about. It was winter time and I didn't have any heating or hot water. After numerous calls to my Landlady and no receiving any kind of help, I've decided to call an engineer, to be told that boiler is very low on the floor, boarded up in a cupboard behind a toilet and unaccessible... The engineer advised me to tell the Landlady that the position of the boiler is against the low and that it had to be moved... He was a nice man, so he repaired the boiler but he didn't want to issue the certificate. He also told me to ask the Landlady about the Gas Safety Certificate... which I did, but I was never given one. The annual gas safety check was never done for 5 years that I was in the flat.

Over the 5 years that I was renting the flat numerous other things went wrong in the flat and it was always me who paid for the repairs. I have never, ever, received any money back.

Beginning of this year, the Landlady moved back to UK and at last she arranged the Gas Safety Inspection. The Gas Safety Certificate was refused on the basis that gas mains was not accessible and the gas was unsafe in the flat. They also mentioned boiler being to low and against the law as it didn't have a proper ventilation and it was unaccessible.

I have decided to move out and was looking for another flat. In april this year I have handed my notice in and moved out at the beginning of June. I have paid for the flat to be cleaned when I moved in as well as at the end of my tenancy. The Landlady came to inspect the flat and to collect the keys. I was told she will repay my deposit when she checks if I have paid all of my bills. It has been over a month since then and no sign of my deposit. I have emailed her few days ago to be told that she will use my deposit to redecorate the flat! When I asked her what TDS did she use, she completely ignored me. When I've told her that I will hand a case to the solicitor, she told me not to threaten her...

My understanding is that she has not seen the flat for over 8 years. What rights does she have to keep my deposit then?

The above is just a short list of the things that I have paid to repair while I was renting the flat. The list can go on and on... from roof leaks, the electricity and rotten windows and floors to rotten doors where the handles were falling out and bedroom door falling of the hinges because of the roof leak. I have paid for all this to be fixed over the 5 years that I have stayed in the flat.

I have moved out and now I am renting a very nice flat but I could really do with my deposit money. What right does she have to keep it and is there anything that I can do?

Please help...

Firstly, forget about all the history - apart from two pieces of information 1) the deposit you paid (amount) and 2) when you paid it.

All the other stuff - broken boiler, leaks, rotten window frames, Landlord abroad - is just extra noise in this case (for the time being at least)... it's obviously setting an overall scene, I understand that, but let's ignore it for the time being to simplify things, if that's OK?

Your deposit, when it was paid in 2009, should have been placed into a deposit protection scheme. You, as Tenant, do not have to ask your Landlord where your deposit is, you should have been told by your Landlord, within 30 days where the deposit was protected. You should have been given something called Prescribed Information and the Terms and Conditions of the pertinent scheme.

If you have never received this Prescribed Information then your Landlord has broken the law. If your Landlord never put the deposit into a deposit protection scheme then your Landlord has broken the law. Ignorance is not going to be an excuse either. You can get in touch with each of the schemes and enquire whether they have / had your deposit protected. If you get confirmation from each scheme that it was not protected, then you can progress to the next step.

If you get confirmation from one of the deposit protection schemes that your deposit is actually protected, then this is your money. Not your Landlord's money. They will also be able to tell you when it was protected. This money belongs to you and the Landlord cannot unilaterally decide to retain some or all of it. At this point you should request all of your money to be returned and if the Landlord disputes this (trying to claim redecoration after >5 years, which anyone else would say is fair wear and tear) then you can take the case to the Alternative Dispute Resolution process of the deposit protection scheme.

Do your checking with the schemes as soon as you can and then come and report back to us - did you find your deposit was protected, or was it never protected? At this moment in time, let's not presume anything... let's find out.

Then we can advise further. Let's line-up all the ducks before we start shooting... it is possible your Landlord has been very silly indeed. Alternatively, is the Agent you referred to a party who could provide the information instead of you asking your ex-Landlord?

Just consider this...

   - possible fines for not protecting the deposit or serving Prescribed Information (original deposit returned + 1x to 3x the deposit - for each tenancy, inc. renewal for a new fixed term or move to an SPT)
  - possible fines for not having a Gas Safety Certificate
  - were you ever shown an EPC?
  - HMRC might be interested in whether your Landlord was accounting for this rental income while being abroad - look up Non-resident Landlord Scheme
  - lastly, without an - extremely detailed - Inventory and >5 years of wear-and-tear, your Landlord is on a hiding-to-nothing if this comes to the point where a Deposit Scheme Adjudicator objectively looks at the case - there's almost zero chance they'll find in the Landlord's favour (but, as we suspect, this might not be the case here, as the deposit was most likely never protected)

I do hope she comes back and gets your advice Hipppo! These landlords give landlords a bad name! ( like Schubert or Ludwig )

Let's hope some of the day is being spent asking the deposit protection schemes whether the deposit was protected, or not. 

Hi Hippogriff,

Thanks very much for your advice it proved to be priceless I have managed to sort everything out and few minutes ago I've received confirmation from my ex Landlady that she will pay back my deposit! Great result!

Let me explain... I got in touch with all 4 TDS this morning and it was verified that my deposit was NOT protected by any scheme.

I spoke to the Landlady and informed her of my actions. However, she was adamant that she was entitled to withhold my deposit on a basis that she needs to invest £1200 into redecoration of the flat and because the flat is not rentable or sellable at the moment...

I have tried to argue that she has not invested any money into the flat for over 5 years but she wasn't having any of that and told me that as she didn't increase the rent for 5 years she has a full right to keep my deposit. She is a solicitor by profession so I've found very difficult to argue my point with her.

So, I sent an email to her explaining my position and I used Hippogriff's "Just consider this..."  points. Immediately after that she answered back with this: "Ok. You have made your point. I will authorise payment now. I hope that will be the end of you and I can have a peaceful day. It will with you in 2 hours. I would hope that now you have your money that will be enough."

It is still not showing on my bank account but hopefully it will soon...

I am very grateful for all the help that I have received from you! I do understand that my ex Landlady is one of very few Landlords in London who behave in this manner and surely there must be many more good, decent Landlords ... like you guys

THANK YOU!!!! x

Nice.

Good work Hippo.

Quote from: JassBe on July 14, 2014, 11:59:27 AMIt is still not showing on my bank account but hopefully it will soon...

Good... fingers-crossed.

It is also kind of pleasing to see someone get satisfaction and be satisfied with justice. Although the Landlord here sounds like a rum 'un. A Landlord / Solicitor combo should be well aware of the law regarding deposit protection and, indeed (the one that always needles me, personally), tax on rental income.

My deposit money is in my bank account since this morning! I have also received an email from my ex Landlady apologising about her behaviour and wishing me all the best in the future Great results all around!

I am soooooo happy that I have found you guys and that I have received such a sound advice! Thank you very much!

Money due and an apology... maybe this Landlord now realises what a pickle they could have been in. Moving on from this one by just returning your deposit is certainly a win for the Landlord as well. It's very good to see it closed-off, though... it has made me feel the sun has come out for a reason.

Anyway, to the admin. aspect... boboff's fee is 5% of any monies recovered... mine is a mere 3%. So that's 8% in total sent to us care of Western Union, please. Less happy now?

Win - Win situation is always great!

I wasn't overly happy with the possibility of going to court to recover my deposit and I am very pleased that we have managed to avoid the uncomfortable situation The apology sounds very sincere and I do understand we all make mistakes sometimes... so all good!

Regarding the admin aspect ... well, to be honest, few days ago, I was preparing myself that I will loose all my deposit and to get it back it's great!... Today, I am happy, thanks to you, so  8% is very generous and I'll throw in a drink too Happiness is always better when shared

Don't you just love the tinternet.

If I may suggest... you should have a voluntary payment section or link in here... maybe called "Penny for my Thoughts" so people like me can show the gratitude...

I think we do it to spread the love... and to try and prove that not all Landlords live under stones in dark places.