Advice urgently needed, please

[phillim]

In September 2010 i rented a poperty. I was resonably happy there but then I recived a letter from the landlords morgage company in Feb 2011 saying that the landlord had basicly not being paying them, and they were going to take him to court to reposes the house. Obviously i was woried about this so contacted the landlord who said everything was fine and will be sorted out in court. A week later i recived another letter to say they had came to a agreement to pay but if the landlord failed to pay then they would go back and reposes the house.
I was extreamly woried about this so i looked for somewhere else to live, as i have a baby due on the 5th July. I found some where gave notice and moved out on the 6th May and was told the deposit would be returned by 31st May.
31st May came and no sign of my £1000 deposit, the landlord has now sent me a letter today 9th June saying that there was damage to the property (which i do not agree with, and only told me now, over a month after leaving ) and refusing to return the deposit. He is keeping the full £1000 deposit. The deposit was not protected so i dont know what i can do. I can not prove that the i did not cause the damage because i did not take any pictures.

Please Please help me i was depending on that money for pushchair etc for my baby boy.

Thank You

[Snorkerz]

Essentially you will have to sue. The basic status is that the deposit remains your property until the landlord can prove that he is entitled to some of the deposit. The onus of proof is on him - though if you have any evidence to support your side, it can only help. I think that the long delay between the end of your tenancy and the letter you received, whilst not proof, will sway a judge in your favour.

Start by sending a letter like this: http://tenancyanswers.ucoz.com/index..._protected/0-4

If that doesn't do the trick, then sue at http://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk. There are fees (google ex160a for exceptions) but presuming you win (and you should) then the judge will also order the landlord to refund those to you. The process is relatively simple and doesn't need solicitors, but a book on the 'small claims process' from the library or Amazon would not be a bad idea.

If it does go to court, I am afraid it may well take several months before your claim is heard.

[phillim]

Thank you.

As the deposit was not protected and i did have to sue him, should i be suing for the 3 x deposit also, im dont quite understand it, but have seen it mentioned alot on here

[Snorkerz]

Thank you.

As the deposit was not protected and i did have to sue him, should i be suing for the 3 x deposit also, im dont quite understand it, but have seen it mentioned alot on here

No, to sue for 3x you need to use a different proceedure which is much more complex and expensive - and as your tenancy has ended it is bound to fail following a recent appeal court decision.