Landlord/Agency Dispute, Grrrrr!

[Powervator]

I wonder if anyone can help me. I had rented a house from an agency who were working on behalf of the landlord. This was for six months and then I asked to have a monthly periodic tenancy. This was fine.

A few months later I needed to move out, contacted the agency, gave them my months notice which they accepted, and they asked me to leave no later that the end of the months notice period.

About 2 weeks after i had moved out, I was called by the agency and was told that the house had been inspected and was fine, but due to the fact that i hadnt complied with the TWO MONTHS notice, I would not be able to get my deposit back (600quid).

I was pretty angry about this and it turned out that the landlord had asked the agency to change the contract to 2 months but the agency had not told me, nor had they gotten my written agreement to the unilateral change in terms.

The only evidence is the 'note on the system'.

I wrote back stating that due to the lack of evidence of this notice period that according to the law (?) my notice was only a month. The agency then came back and stated that the landlord now has found some things wrong with the house, ie it was dirty and unclean. The landlord stated that he spent 64 pounds on cleaners and had to redecorate the bathroom (costing 55 pounds) due to mould.

It is these two issues that prevent me from getting back my deposit.

I dont mind paying the cleaning if they can evidence it, but i really object to them keeping all the money due to the fact that the agency cocked up.

What shall I do?

[hedgey06]

Hi powervator,

£600 sounds like an awful lot of money for them to withhold. This isn't my area of expertise, but hopefully somebody will be along soon to point you in the right direction and let you know what to do next to resolve the above.

Best of luck with this

[flying_visitor]

I think that landlords are only allowed to keep whatever it costs them to make the house back up to the standard it was when you moved in. That means you should get your £600 back less the cost of the painting and cleaning.

[Powervator]

Thank you for your support.

Adding another layer to this mess, I started the tenancy (i.e. signed on the dotted line) on the 7th April 2007. But I have found out that I wasn't in this deposit protection scheme only recently. Technically i paid the deposit a few days before the 6th April (to allow for the money to clear before i moved in) but am I correct in the understanding that the money I paid did not become a deposit until the tenancy started?

Can apply to the county court? If so, how do i do that?

Please someone give me some advice!

[Powervator]

Incidentally I did call the agency today and both the Landlord and the agency will not budge. However I have never taken someone to court before! I am scared!!

[Powervator]

bump

[Steve__M]

I researched this a couple of weeks ago when my partner's tenant gave one months notice. After a bit of googling I found that statutory notice is for the tenant to give one month (if paying rent monthly - 4 weeks if paying rent weekly), and nothing in the contract can change this (if it is a periodic tenancy).

If they are claiming just £119 in deposit deductions, they should at least pay you the balance - I would not have thought that it could be used as an excuse to hold onto all the money.

The stickies have advice for reclaiming deposits - don't be scared - they're more scared than you. Keep all your paperwork and put everything in writing.