Deposit in lieu of rent payment

[nitemare]

Hi everyone,
I'm in a bit of a sticky situation...

I'm currently in the 5th month of my 6 month rental agreement with a private landlord, but for the past 2 weeks I've been sick and off work, also as I'm employed through an agency i don't get any sick pay..this means at the end of the month i wont have enough to pay my rent.

Also because of the nature of my illness, it means i need to have someone around to care for me, therefore I've been staying at my friends house and not been back home, in addition to this I have to await results of test done at the hospital and depending on the outcome it might mean I'll have to move back to London and live with my mam as i wont be able to work full-time anymore and hence can't afford rent on my own..

I haven't spoken to my landlord yet, but I'm proposing to ask him to retain my deposit for this month's rent and I'll vacate the flat begining of next month.... Is this allowed or will my landlord be able to take legal action against me?

Can I point out my landlord has always been nice to me and me on my part have always paid his rent on time and the flat is in good condition...do you think he'll think about this or he'll only have his business hat on?????????
I don't know what to do.............

[davethorp]

The main issue the landlord will have with that is that if any damage has occured to the property this is usually offset against the deposit. If as you say the flat is in good condition then he may agree to this but will probably want to inspect the flat for himself first if he has any sense

My last flat was privately let and I owed some rent (as a result of similar circumstances to yours... went off sick and couldn't afford the rent). My landlord did retain my deposit to reduce the rent owing (which I agreed to him doing) though I owed about 3 or 4 months rent by time I vacated the property

As your off sick with no other income you might be able to claim income support or incapacity benefit. If you receive either of these you should qualify for housing benefit which would pay some if not all of your rent. Might be worth looking into (I just wish someone had told me the same thing as if I had claimed housing benefit I may not have lost my last flat)

[MattyH]

I don't believe that the law allows for deposits to be retained for rent? When I moved out of my first rented property I wanted to use some of the deposit for payment of the last months rent (long story!) but the agent wouldn't let me, stating it was not allowed.

However, if you're dealing with a nice landlord and you've left the place in a good state of repair etc, then what you agree between yourselves is up to you both. However it must be stated that if, for any reason you left the house in disrepair (sp?) then the landlord may not have enough left in the deposit to make good the repair etc, then he'd prob sue you etc...

This was about 2 years ago mind you, so the advice I've given may well be out of date by now. Anyone know if I'm right for certain?

Matt

_______________________
Don't sue me if this isn't right, it's only my opinion.

[Joa]

I would never recommend using your deposit in lieu of the last rent payment- without written permission from the landlord. It does not have to be a formal document- his reply to your email would be sufficient. But without this agreement in place, you are in breach of contract and open to legal action. If you have no other option but to use your deposit, then write to landlord, explain your position and be prepared to pay any agreed losses/damages upon expiry of your contract plus, possibly, his legal costs if he decides to sue you.