Been a good tennant, landlord agrees, been fobbed off with deposit excuses.

[tripchar]

Help!
six weeks ago moved out of my old rented home and into a new one. We got on well with landlord, and the date for moving was sooner than the following months rent BUT we paid him right up and gave the right amount of days notice. Im heavily pregnant and could not give the house the deep clean that I like to when i leave so we got a friend who has a cleaning company to do it for us. The landlord even said he did not want us to leave.
Six weeks later and three phone calls and the landlord has not sent us deposit. It is not that he wants to deduct anything, he was really happy with us he just keeps saying he is waiting for money to clear, and then keeps saying "by the end of the week" or "in a weeks time". Each time I phone him up he fobs me off with an excuse. My patience is wearing thin, I am really angry and reluctant to phone again because I don't want to get angry with him. At the same time baby is on the way and I could really use the deposit money for the baby. I feel so insulted! what should I do?

[Joa]

Hi there; time to get more formal and put your request in writing. No need for any posh, legal terminology, just short, polite request and a tight deadline. You need to also explain what you intend to do if he doesn't oblige and this may be along the lines of the bank template letter: "I will give you 14 days to reply to me accepting, unconditionally, my request in principle and letting me know a date by which I will receive payment.
If you do not respond, or you do not respond positively, within this time period, I shall send you a letter before action giving you a further 14 days in which to reflect. After that, there will be no further communication from me and I shall issue a claim at the expiry of the second deadline."
To sweeten these harsh words, tell him how sorry you are about this development, how much you enjoyed being his tenant and that you hope that this matter will be resolved shortly and amicably.

Keep us posted and good luck.

[demon_x_slash]

ARLA's guide to returning deposits suggests that a good landlord will do so within 28 days. He's gone past that now, so, yes, it's letter-writing time. Deposit money is meant to be ringfenced (in other words, he's not allowed to spend any of it, unless it's needed for repairs at the end of the tenancy), so he should in theory have the money physically. I'd also mention what you said in your original post, about needing the money to prepare for the baby. It helps as Joa said to keep things amicable for as long as you possibly can; if he's not forthcoming then you may need to go down the Small Claims Court route at some point. The SCC isn't a scary place, but it can be stressful, and you obviously don't need the hassle in your condition.

[tripchar]

Nice one Joa,
Im gonna draft a letter later today (deleting all the personal details obviously) and post it on this thread for ppls opinions before I post it.
I wish I could have more of a backbone when it comes to this situation...its so much easier to stand up for yourself when its a company I know I am. In a persoanl situation it is very tricky...I guess the moral of the story to anyone becoming tenants is to keep it business like and don't get too friendly. What a very sad world we live in!!

[Joa]

keep it business like

-that's the ticket.

[blacksheep1979]

It might also be worth pointing out (to the landlord) that the deposit should be kept seperate and therefore there should be no need in waiting for monies to clear.

[tripchar]

thankyou guys all of this is great help to me! (especially when my body and brain are tired...I only have 1 1/2 weeks til my due date!!!!!)
demon x slash has given me another good idea for some ammo...Im going to contact ARLA to see if he is a member and get a bit of back up from them too.
You guys have helped get a big preggers woman on the war path, poor ex-landlord .

[tripchar]

This is my letter feel free to make suggestions of how to improve it....
"I am writing to you with regard the return of deposit for xx xxxxxxxxx. In recent conversation we have been given two dates for when to expect the return of our deposit. As per our telephone conversations you have expressed your happiness with the condition the property was left in and in previous contact how much you did not want us to leave. However both verbal dates have come and gone and we are beginning to feel a little insulted by your action. As stated in my letter of notice I expressed how much we enjoyed being your tenants, the reasons for having to leave and ample notice of our plans. We recommended the property to xxxxxxxx and did our bit in persuading them to move in so that you were not left with an empty property. We even got the property professionally cleaned saving you money.
We understand that you are finding yourself in a terrible situation at the moment, however I would like to point out that my due date for the baby is very soon and we were hoping to use the money to help to prepare for the baby.
ARLA suggests that tenants should wait no longer than 28 days for return of their deposit, and if you take this from the date of actual move Xth xxxxx or Xth xxxxx which was the end of notice period, 28 days have elapsed.
According to ARLA deposits are supposed to be held so the fact that you are waiting for money to clear should not affect us. So you leave me no option:
I will give you 14 days to reply to me accepting, unconditionally, my request in principle and letting me know a date by which I will receive payment.
If you do not respond, or you do not respond positively, within this time period, I shall send you a letter before action giving you a further 14 days in which to reflect. After that, there will be no further communication from me and I shall issue a claim at the expiry of the second deadline.
I am really reluctant in writing this letter, and I hope we can resolve this situation promptly without any upset."

Any good??

[Joa]

Perfect. I would just change a "a little insulted" to disappointed and explain in brackets what ARLA stands for as he may not have idea.

Well, fingers crossed your refund will be ready to wet the baby's head. is it your first one?

[tripchar]

Hi guys
Yeah Joa this is my first! Thanks for the help on the letter, not bad considering my brain is having a struggle, hey.
Will let you know the outcome and when to have an excuse for a drink for baby hee hee!
Thanks again