Deposit and part rent of deceased tenant

[gemini]

My mother died unexpectedly on the 4th of May this year. She had been a tenant of a property for 7 years and always paid her rent on the 1st of the month by direct debit.
After 2 months we had not heard anything from the management company so we rang and asked them about returning the bond and rent that had been paid in advance. They refused to pay saying that they had had to redecorate throughout and it had amounted to £1050. (The amount due back was £985). After numerous phone calls they said they would return £286 but still would hold the rest. What's annoying is that we had to decorate the flat through out when she moved in and prior to that she had lived in a flat the floor above in the same block which we also decorated when she moved in!! We also emptied and cleaned the flat thoroughly though it wasn't in a bad condition anyway.

We have checked the contract and it says they can withold £50 + VAT for a deep clean but nothing about redecoration. In all the time she lived there no investment or refurbishments were done.

We wrote a letter to the landlords Leckhampton Estates Investments Ltd informing them that if the money wasn't repaid we would issue a claim via the court, which was forwarded on by the property company. We still have not received a reply and the management company refuse to give us the landlords full title and address saying that it has to be sent to them. But I have been advised this could be deemed as not served.

Can anyone advise us on this?

[MrShed]

What a difficult situation - you have my sympathies, not an enviable position.

Sounds to me like they are trying to perform redecoration to better the property using your mothers bond. Was any remedial works/decoration performed during the course of the tenancy? Was any inventory signed prior to your mother moving in?

Although they probably should, I doubt they are obliged to pay back the rent paid in advance however.

[gemini]

My mother had kep all details including contracts and correspondence from the previous landlords together, but there was no inventory. She had previously lived in a flat upstairs in the same block so she had lived about 9 years in total within the building. During all that time no redecoration or refurbishment was carried out by the landlord's. We have asked for an inventory from Allsop's the management company but they remain silent on this.

[Ed999]

Read this thread: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk...eductions.html

[gemini]

Thanks for guidance Ed999.

A letter was sent to the landlords via the agents informing them that if we did not receive the deposit or some breakdown of costs (in fact any reply at all would have been good) within 14 days then we would take them to court. The only letter we have received has been from the agents who wrote to inform us that they had forwarded it on Leckhampton's.

Would this letter be enough or should I send an LBA also? Could someone advise please?

[gemini]

Please could someone advise. I can't find anything on other threads and I need to find a solution to close this.

[Nightmare4banks]

gemini,in reply to your posts:

To begin with,I am very sorry to read about your mother's death.

Anyway,please answer the following questions:

1.When did you send the letter to Leckhampton?

2.When did you get a response from the management company?

The answers to these questions should hopefully enable me to assist you further.

[gemini]

Thank you Nightmare4banks, this problem seems to roll on and on.

I delivered the letter myself on the 12th November to the office of management agent Allsopps and we received a reply from the agents about the 21st November to say they had forwarded it on to Leckhampton's. Since then we have heard nothing at all.

I am not sure how to proceed on this and I need closure on a very stressful situation. My mother did everything by the book i.e. rent paid on the due date never late and she also had someone cleaning for her every week besides what I did for her. We are fighting for what we believe is right.

[Nightmare4banks]

gemini,in reply to your last post:

1.Check with the land registry to confirm that the same company is the owner of the property that your late mother lived in.

2.Once you are sure of point 1,issue the summons to the owner company at the address where your late mother lived.

3.Regarding the amount to claim I would try and claim the full deposit plus a portion of the monthly rental amount that your late mother had paid until the day the fact that the property was vacated of all her possessions.

4.This would mean that your claim would be of an unfixed amount upto deposit + portion of monthly rent plus simple interest at 8%(County Court rate) - let the judge decide if you can get any of the rent refunded.

Nothing ventured! Nothing gained! - As the saying goes.

I hope you find this information useful.

If you need any more help,just ask.

Keep us posted.

All the best!

[gemini]

Thank you for getting back to me, it is much appreciated. I will do a search on the land registry web site and confirm details of the landlord. I will then issue a county court summons on Leckhampton. Are there any specific points or details I should be considering when issuing a county court summons? The circumstances regarding this particular case seem to be unique to this forum but I am sure other people must have come up against this in the past.

Just to let you know the first amount they were claiming was £1050, just over the total amount of deposit and rent of £985.00. They said that it was for 'redecoration'. When challenged they took off replastering, this was due to a leak in the flat upstairs! We have been refunded £286.00 part rent refund which we have accepted as part payment only but the rest has been kept along with the deposit.

I will issue court proceeding tomorrow. Is it best to go to the court or do it online?

[Nightmare4banks]

gemini,in reply to your last post:

1.Your total maximum claim should = Deposit + Monthly Rent Paid in Advance by your Late Mother - Any Refund Received + 8% Simple Interest(Section 69 of the 1984 County Court Act).

2.I am not too hot on types of forms etc but the main thing is to specify that your claim is unfixed up to a maximum of the figures and would suggest that you contact your local court explaining your claim as above.

Keep me posted.

All the best!

[gemini]

Thanks Nightmare4banks for all your help. I will keep you posted.

[Nightmare4banks]

You are very welcome and if you need any more help,just ask.

[gemini]

I would be extremely grateful if someone could help with clarification on a couple of points before I issue a county court summons to the landlord.

I have found out the landlord's full company name and registered address via the Land Registry, so do I still send the summons to the property my mother lived in or to the company's registered address.

We have still not received an invoice for redecoration. In a letter dated the 30th October the property management company said that it was archived and would forward it on to us within afew days. Should we request this invoice or would it be better for our case if we didn't? Also in this letter they have credited the rent from the 5th - 31st May and then deducted the costs of redecoration. Should I still go for the balance of the rent and/or just the deposit as they have actually put it in writing that they have refunded the rent.

[Nightmare4banks]

gemini,in reply to your last post:

1.Double check the address with Companies House as you know now the full company details.You should be able to do this online or give them a ring to double check on the latest fees etc.

2.Regarding your other question,I must go out shortly but I will answer it in detail during this weekend.

In the meantime you contact Companies House and let me know how you get on.

The web address for companies house is:

Companies House

[gemini]

Hi Nightmare4banks, I have checked Companies House and can confirm registered address of landlord's stated on title deeds is the same.

[Nightmare4banks]

gemini,in reply to your post and in my view:

You do not need the invoice for the redecoration.Anyway,the landlord is not allowed to better himself from the deposit monies.Please refer to the

Pleaase answer the following questions:

1.What is the difference between the rent that has been refunded and monthly rent charged?

2.What day of the month your mother sadly died?


The answers to the above questions should enable me to hopefully assist you further.






If I think of any other points I will post them here