contract terminated deposit query?

[confusedaboutlaw]

hi,

me and my gf split up and she moved out.. her name was on the tenancy but i paid the deposit...

she left and i couldnt afford to stay so was planning to move..

the landlord refuses to change contracts or accept rent and told me my ex had said she wanted nothing to do with it and hung up, which i dont think i s true..

he has since asked me to leave and the contract was not terminatd although we had a little showdown when my gf came down and we queried the deposit.. protection scheme etc etc.. he couldnt answer at all and was trying to talk his way out.. but i had read up so am pretty knowledgable on the deposit protection scheme..

the roof was leaking through the lights, shower and sewage and water was all bad.. no water, shower not working.. completley intermittent.. just bad plumbing i assume. plus he gave no gas certificate or anything and didnt do an inventory although he was taking pictures when we left..

he is now demanding money for rent, cleaning, damage etc etc (we cracked 1 tile!!) be taken out of the deposit..

i explained the law quite clearly to him but he kept avoiding it and just generally making stuff up on the spot loosely based on the literature i had given he and underlined key points.. for example upstairs he was in a custodial scheme and downstairs he was in an insurance based scheme after reading the leaflet!!

he wanted to terminate the contract but my gf had left before he could.. now she is 300 miles away!!..

my question is simple.. if i initiate the termination / surrender of the contract will my gf still be entitled to claim about the lack of deposit protection..

he knows his responsibilities but refuses to accept that it is a problem or that he should sort it out.. we lived there in good faith and he was very nice and friendly but consistently lied.. i asked him the same questions everytime and got very different excuses.. not answers!! the problem is that none of the things are documented as it has all be verbal as he seemed like a nice fellow.. now he is just irritating me trying to tell me that yellow is black!!

he has provided no evidence for a deposit protection scheme and says that he doesnt have to and that he alone can sign out the money.. hes crackers

anyhow i dont really want to see or deal with him again so i just want to pursue my deposit which it seems like he is intent on keeping through bills (it is 900)..

any help appreciated.

thanks

[MrShed]

Has he ever accepted rent from you?

[confusedaboutlaw]

yes every month since 20ish September until now .. only 12 days would be outstanding by the time we had completely moved everything out..

[MrShed]

From you personally? How did you pay?

[confusedaboutlaw]

just paid in cash on the 1st of every month.. i have receipts but can only find the first one.. i think he would agree a surrender where by everything was up to date until the 1st of january and that the period from 1st til the 12th is still owed (even though he wouldnt accept it off me as the contract was for my gf).. i paid on her behalf and that was fine.. this all stems from me being honest and explaining the situation that she had left and he was cool initially and was to let me stay until the end of the month while he found new tenants then he came back 2 hours later and said out in 3 days!!

[confusedaboutlaw]

can anyone help?? can i dispute my deposit after i have terminated / surrendered the contract?

any help is appreciated..

:o

[MrShed]

This isnt a straightforward case in all honesty. However, as you said yourself, you paid the rent on behalf of your girlfriend. This, IMO, means that you are not a tenant.

Either way, you have no dispute with the deposit - it must be your girlfriend who resolves that side. If indeed you have no tenancy, then the landlord is pretty much entitled to do what he is doing with the deposit. The entire question really hinges on whether you are classed as a tenant or an "occupant". IMO, you are the latter, but I would await clarification as I am not sure.

[Joa]

I am afraid you can be simply invisible to the landlord; you are not a tenant, you haven't made a new contract with him. Your GF would need to act- but this seems a sore point, yeah?
So you loosing out on the deposit; you've paid and now you want it back. Sue the lady- you gave her a loan, right? Or was it a gift? Or was it a convenience, because after all you've lived there too.
You can't even say that it was "your deposit". it may have been your money, but the deposit belongs to the tenant.

You can also chalk it down to experience and one of life's lessons. I can't see a clear, neat way out of this.