Unprotected Deposit

[JP_Midget]

Hi all, I'm looking for some advice on behalf of a worried and upset girlfriend.

She recently vacated a rented flat, shared with a friend. Tenancy started in Aug 07, and they filled out the TDS forms and paid money as deposit to Letting Agents. I remember them asking about details from the LA, and being told they'd be sent on, but nothing arrived and it passed from mind as they didn't really know what it was there for. I assumed they had received the details.

Anyway, come moving out and they're in dispute with the landlord about damage to the door of the garage (dent from outside), which is one in a block in a communal area, with no restriction on access. This was caused by an unknown party. The landlord has phoned saying they will be taking money from the deposit to cover this, and the letting agency have said they are holding the deposit waiting for the landlord to allow them to release it.

So, after all this it has emergerd in phone conversations with the letting agency that they forgot to send off the paper work to the TDS scheme. Hence, it's not protected and they don't have access to a free ADR service to sort this out (can you tell I've been reading up).

So, the advice I'm after is, who is responsible for paying for the damage?

Then I will probably have questions about what to do regarding not using a TDS.

[PaulF]

If the landlord deducts anything then you might have to go to court to obtain redress. The fact the deposit was not put into a scheme is in itself an offence, but if the agent is registered with an insured scheme then you can apply to the scheme for it to be assessed by an adjudicator. If the agent is regulated as a member of one of the trade associations then you can make a formal complaint too.

[JP_Midget]

if the agent is registered with an insured scheme then you can apply to the scheme for it to be assessed by an adjudicator.

Hi Paul,

Are you referring to an insurance based tenancy deposit scheme? I assumed that this would provide cover individually, rather than one for an agent that covers all deposits it holds. Am I wrong?

I doubt that the agency itself is part of any scheme that provides adjudication due to the way they have refused to discuss this with my girlfriend, other than stating the landlord wishes to withhold monies. Worth an ask though, I'll make sure we cover it in our letter requesting details of the TDS scheme used (so we have a written request, rather than just the phone call where we were told they forgot to do it).

Thanks