Deposit not protected - Landlord is a limited company - How to proceed?
My partner and I were assured shorthold tenants of a flat from September 2008 until March 2010. We moved out of the property in March and we have still yet to receive our deposit back from the landlord (£1150). Although we know who the ‘landlord’ is, the landlord is technically a limited company, as detailed on our tenancy agreement.
Since moving out I have contacted the landlord several times regarding our deposit. Replies of “I’ll do it next week” and “I’m doing it today and I’ll post the cheque today” have been all lies and we have received nothing from the landlord since moving out.
I only found out about the Housing Act 2004 and the Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme whilst searching the internet to find out our options for trying to get our money back. As far as we know the deposit was not protected and we received no information about our deposit being protected at any point during our tenancy and certainly not within 14 days of the tenancy commencing.
I am planning to file a N208 claim form with the local county court for the deposit itself, 3 x the deposit (£3450) as compensation, the court fee, and interest. I have sent the landlord a Letter Before Action and the 14 day period given on the letter has now passed.
The flat was in a block of nine flats, and the landlord uses letterbox 10 on the outside of the block for his landlord-related mail. This is the only address we have for the landlord and the address listed on the tenancy agreement. This is the address we sent the Letter Before Action to and the address I plan to list as the Defendant’s address on the court claim. Although the landlord does not live at the flats, during our tenancy he was at the premises usually once a week or once a fortnight to maintain the upkeep of the communal areas, so I do not think he can say that he didn’t get the Letter Before Action.
I would like to know if I can expect any complications because the landlord is a limited company:
- Can I simply file a normal N208 form listing the company instead of an individual as the Defendant?
- I have recently done a company search on the Companies House website and I now also have a registered address for the limited company. Shall I serve court papers to both the address listed on the tenancy agreement (Flat 10 at the block of flats) and the company’s registered address?
- Will I encounter problems (and high costs) enforcing a court order against a limited company, which may have no assets?
- Do you think I have a strong case with a high chance of success?
The deposit is £1150 so it is not an insignificant amount of money, and we really need to money back because we’re struggling to pay off our credit cards bills etc having had the expense of moving house, sorting the money for our new deposit, and paying off credit card bills full of ‘new house’ expenses.
Many thanks in advance to anyone who can give me some advice.
Since moving out I have contacted the landlord several times regarding our deposit. Replies of “I’ll do it next week” and “I’m doing it today and I’ll post the cheque today” have been all lies and we have received nothing from the landlord since moving out.
I only found out about the Housing Act 2004 and the Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme whilst searching the internet to find out our options for trying to get our money back. As far as we know the deposit was not protected and we received no information about our deposit being protected at any point during our tenancy and certainly not within 14 days of the tenancy commencing.
I am planning to file a N208 claim form with the local county court for the deposit itself, 3 x the deposit (£3450) as compensation, the court fee, and interest. I have sent the landlord a Letter Before Action and the 14 day period given on the letter has now passed.
The flat was in a block of nine flats, and the landlord uses letterbox 10 on the outside of the block for his landlord-related mail. This is the only address we have for the landlord and the address listed on the tenancy agreement. This is the address we sent the Letter Before Action to and the address I plan to list as the Defendant’s address on the court claim. Although the landlord does not live at the flats, during our tenancy he was at the premises usually once a week or once a fortnight to maintain the upkeep of the communal areas, so I do not think he can say that he didn’t get the Letter Before Action.
I would like to know if I can expect any complications because the landlord is a limited company:
- Can I simply file a normal N208 form listing the company instead of an individual as the Defendant?
- I have recently done a company search on the Companies House website and I now also have a registered address for the limited company. Shall I serve court papers to both the address listed on the tenancy agreement (Flat 10 at the block of flats) and the company’s registered address?
- Will I encounter problems (and high costs) enforcing a court order against a limited company, which may have no assets?
- Do you think I have a strong case with a high chance of success?
The deposit is £1150 so it is not an insignificant amount of money, and we really need to money back because we’re struggling to pay off our credit cards bills etc having had the expense of moving house, sorting the money for our new deposit, and paying off credit card bills full of ‘new house’ expenses.
Many thanks in advance to anyone who can give me some advice.
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