UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hi

I am planning on leaving my current tenancy (shared 3 bed flat) and looking for some advice. Probably not relevant, but I've been here for about 2 and a half years.

To date, I have not been asked to sign:

A tenancy agreement
An inventory
Anything at all to signify my being here

I do not have any contact with the landlord, everything is done through our agency. To that end, the deposit was paid directly to the agency - I have never been given a receipt to say that my deposit was received, or notification that it has been paid into a deposit protection scheme. I will be giving the agency a months notice of me moving out, though I have never actually agreed to. My qualms come from the fact that the agency seem to have a policy of withholding a deposit from an outgoing tenant until the replacement has paid theirs in; I have a few emails that I'm CC'd into between the previous tenant and the agency back when I was first moving in that corroborate this.

Is this actually enforceable seeing as: I've never agreed to it, haven't actually been given the protection that I should have had on my deposit in the first place and don't actually have any obligation to find a new tenant anyway? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that I'm not going to find a new tenant, I'm just wondering in the case one isn't found by the time I move out.


Thanks

If you've paid a deposit but haven't been issued with the Prescribed Information telling you where and how it's protected, then the ball is very much in your court. If you choose to take legal action, you will be entitled to the return of your deposit in full plus a penalty of 1-3 times the value of the deposit.

As regards the notice you have to give, in the absence of a contract to the contrary, one rental period (month) is sufficient. Tell the agent you'd like your deposit back immediately. If they refuse, ask for details of the deposit scheme it's held in. They'll soon change their tune.