Help needed re. deposit return

[Mark W]

Hi,

I'm having an issue getting my deposit returned. I moved out on 7th July (the correct date having received a s21 notice from my landlord). If it makes any difference the property was an AST but into the one-month rolling statutory tenancy, the rent was £1473.33 and the property is in England. The check-out inventory was done on that same day. I received a copy of that inventory on 9th July. I inquired of the estate agent (the property is managed) on 15th July when my deposit would be returned and received a response stating something like:

"We are just waiting to hear from the landlord how much the mirror cost" (a mirror had a crack in it when I moved out)

I have now chased this twice and been given basically the same response.

Surely they cannot hold my deposit indefinitely while waiting for the landlord to reply? The estate agent offered to return my deposit minus £200 while they await the landlord informing them how much the mirror cost, and said that they would then refund the further difference between £200 and the cost of the mirror at a later date. I don't really see why I should agree to this, the mirror is a worthless piece of crap and probably cost £30 at most and I feel like they are just hoping I will abandon the £200 and not chase it further.

What steps should I take to secure the return of my deposit? Should I send a snail mail letter requesting the return within 10 days? Should I address this to the estate agent or the landlord c/o the estate agent? (The landlord lives in Pakistan and I don't know their actual address there, all communication has always been through the Estate Agent).

I have already asked them to let me know which scheme my deposit is protected with in case I need to raise a dispute (I was informed that it was protected but have long since lost the piece of paper telling me who with). Finally, if the mirror is valued at say, £50 and the estate agent attempt to deduct the full £50 from the deposit surely I am entitled to then collect the mirror? I returned the flat with a cracked mirror, not with no mirror at all.

[westminster]

I'm having an issue getting my deposit returned. I moved out on 7th July (the correct date having received a s21 notice from my landlord).

Just for future reference, a s.21 notice is not a notice to quit and does not end the tenancy nor remove the T's obligation to serve notice to quit if he wishes to unilaterally end the tenancy. It would appear that LL in this case is happy to accept a surrender, but another LL could legally have pursued you for rent in lieu of notice for vacating without notice in a periodic tenancy.

What steps should I take to secure the return of my deposit? ...

I have already asked them to let me know which scheme my deposit is protected with in case I need to raise a dispute (I was informed that it was protected but have long since lost the piece of paper telling me who with).

Check with the schemes yourself; there are only three of them. When/if you find the scheme, you can raise a dispute via the scheme.

Finally, if the mirror is valued at say, £50 and the estate agent attempt to deduct the full £50 from the deposit surely I am entitled to then collect the mirror? I returned the flat with a cracked mirror, not with no mirror at all.

No, you're not entitled to the broken mirror. It's the LL's property. If you end up paying £x for the damage, that's to cover the LL's loss, not to buy the broken mirror.

[westminster]

Just for future reference, a s.21 notice is not a notice to quit and does not end the tenancy nor remove the T's obligation to serve notice to quit if he wishes to unilaterally end the tenancy. It would appear that LL in this case is happy to accept a surrender, but another LL could legally have pursued you for rent in lieu of notice for vacating without notice in a periodic tenancy.

And I already told you this in your previous thread

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums...-notice-tenant

[Snorkerz]

Your first action sould be to check with the 3 deposit schemes which, if any, protects your deposit
https://www.depositprotection.com/is...osit-protected
http://www.mydeposits.co.uk/tenants/...k-your-deposit
http://www.thedisputeservice.co.uk/i...egistered.html

[Mark W]

Your first action sould be to check with the 3 deposit schemes which, if any, protects your deposit
https://www.depositprotection.com/is...osit-protected
http://www.mydeposits.co.uk/tenants/...k-your-deposit
http://www.thedisputeservice.co.uk/i...egistered.html

Thanks - all of those say something along the lines of 'tenancy not found'. Is there any sort of form letter I should be sending to the estate agents now (the property is managed and the landlord in Pakistan, so not to the landlord).

[Mark W]

Just for future reference, a s.21 notice is not a notice to quit and does not end the tenancy nor remove the T's obligation to serve notice to quit if he wishes to unilaterally end the tenancy. It would appear that LL in this case is happy to accept a surrender, but another LL could legally have pursued you for rent in lieu of notice for vacating without notice in a periodic tenancy.


Check with the schemes yourself; there are only three of them. When/if you find the scheme, you can raise a dispute via the scheme.


No, you're not entitled to the broken mirror. It's the LL's property. If you end up paying £x for the damage, that's to cover the LL's loss, not to buy the broken mirror.

And I replied to you in the previous thread and said that I understood that I needed to give notice - I just didn't post all the back and forth here because it's irrelevant to the main issue.

Why would the landlord get to keep the mirror if they charge me the full price of the mirror and not the cost of the damage? That wouldn't be compensating them for any loss they have suffered as they haven't lost a mirror, they've lost the difference between a damaged and an undamaged mirror. I highly doubt that a tenancy deposit can be used to unjustly enrich a landlord...

[Brb]

If you wanted to take the broken mirror with you then whilst you was still there you could have sourced an exact replacement and swapped them out.

A LL can take from the deposit for damages but does not have to carry out the repairs, you're not buying a broken product.

What a LL cannot do is have betterment but the wear and tear on a mirror I would think it minimal. If for example you had burnt a carpet then you would have been advised that wear and tear comes into play and a calculation explained for life expectancy etc.

[Mark W]

If you wanted to take the broken mirror with you then whilst you was still there you could have sourced an exact replacement and swapped them out.

A LL can take from the deposit for damages but does not have to carry out the repairs, you're not buying a broken product.

What a LL cannot do is have betterment but the wear and tear on a mirror I would think it minimal. If for example you had burnt a carpet then you would have been advised that wear and tear comes into play and a calculation explained for life expectancy etc.

I understand that the LL does not have to carry out the repairs.

The mirror is not completely smashed, it has a small crack in the corner. If the mirror cost £50 originally and I am charged £50, and the landlord keeps the mirror, then undoubtedly the landlord has had betterment - he has got a completely free cracked mirror, whether or not he buys a new uncracked mirror with the £50.

On the other hand if I get the mirror then the situation is perfectly fair. The landlord has lost a mirror and gained the full value of that mirror, which he can use to replace it if he wants to. I have paid full value for a mirror which was not damaged when I came into possession of it.

Any other solution leads to the landlord being unjustly enriched.

[the-smiths]

I'm sure the LL would have been very happy for you to source, buy and fit a new mirror and also dispose of the one you broke - would have saved him the trouble of doing it.

[jta]

I think I'm getting Brain Strain now.

How would it be if the landlord charged you a smaller amount simply because the mirror is not perfect but is useable.? Would that satisfy your sense of fair play?

[Mark W]

I'm sure the LL would have been very happy for you to source, buy and fit a new mirror and also dispose of the one you broke - would have saved him the trouble of doing it.

I would be happy to pay the landlord the cost of 'sourcing and fitting' a mirror on top of the value of the mirror if he wanted to replace it because those costs would be part of his loss. The landlord had one undamaged mirror mounted on the wall in his flat at the start of my tenancy and he ought to be in the same position at the end of my tenancy.

How would it be if the landlord charged you a smaller amount simply because the mirror is not perfect but is useable.? Would that satisfy your sense of fair play?

Yes, of course. The mirror is damaged and I should pay for the damage. Not, as the estate agent implied, for a brand new mirror.

[Mrs Mug]

Thanks - all of those say something along the lines of 'tenancy not found'. Is there any sort of form letter I should be sending to the estate agents now.

Follow the advise in the link below.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_ad...es?src=hpban-s