Hi all, I hope your well.

Just a quick question please.

I am a tenant in North London and the Landlord stopped using the estate agent in 2015, two years after we moved in.

I now require a copy of the original tenancy agreement but the estste agent say as they are no longer managing the property, the records are no longer in the office and I would need approach the LL. The LL also says no.

I thought the estate agents are required by law to store securly personal information belonging to a customer for a certain period of time, or is that not the case?

Any help will most appreciated , Thank you

What do you need the original agreement for?

As far as I'm aware they have to destroy personal info if they no.longer require it and cant keep it.

The LL no longer being their client would certainly a reason for destroying the data

Because the original rent amount signed for by all parties was for £1300.

I have been paying £1350 to build up a credit.

LL now says that the original rent amount was £1350! which is not the case as will be seen on original tenancy agreement.

If i can ever get holdof it.... You say the data will have been destroyed? Is there no requirment tohold info for a set period of time?

No. The estate agent would have to prove that they have a valid reason to keep personal data after the contract between land lord and estate agent expired.

That's y the DPA act exists. To stop them keepin data unreasonably.

Yu could push the estate agent as they say its not in that office.

They may have it and claim its reasonable under the DPA for say 4 years in case of disputes. You may have to actually ask do you have a copy or is it destroyed ?

They may charge you for a copy if they do have it

And here I was thinkning a SAR could be fruitful...Thanks for the info....

While I am here, can I please get your thoughts on whether or not should be concerned about the fact that on the land registry, the LL is registered as living here, having taken mortgage 5yrs ago (presumably not a buy to let).

There have been shoddy dealings in the past with him asking us not to be present when house insurance surveyor visited, his vehicles insurance is also registred here etc... Thanks

Well if that ws me in the position I would of told them to FOXTROT OSCAR if they told me not to be here when inspected.

Vehicle insurance is fraudulently obtained (technically)

If ll gets any criminal convictions then it might end up bailiffs will come a knocking.

Do you have insurance for contents?

I would send any mail not in your name as not known at this address back in the royal mail system.

Prob the LL has not sought permission from mortgage company for buy to let etc

I have been paying £1350 to build up a credit.

Seriously!!!

When I let out the house that used to be my home it was relatively straightforward to gain permission from the mortgage company to let the property. I doubt anything would have shown up on the land registry. You may be right that the landlord is evading tax or has not informed the mortgage company. Your risk is that your tenancy is less secure if the landlord defaults on the mortgage.

If you have been overpaying then surely some communication has been done to explain why you have overpaid. Have you seriously lost it all in addition to losing your copy of the contract?

One method would be to force the issue by writing to your landlord to say that you are now reducing your payment to £1250 for several months to off-set the overpayment. It is then in his interest to give you a copy of the contract.

He may refuse and enforce the higher rent. In court a judge may have to balance the probability of a landlord also losing the contract against a tenant volunteering to give the landlord an interest free loan.

 

If you have been overpaying then surely some communication has been done to explain why you have overpaid. Have you seriously lost it all in addition to losing your copy of the contract?

We have disputed this point via txt msg for over a year,iam sure i backed up the chats so will have a look. I didnt see it as an Intrest free load, rather to build a months rent in advanced for some sense of security, for a month.

What communication was there about you paying the extra £50?

Was it with the landlord or the agent?

Is there a chance that some of it may still exist?

Was there ever a time when you paid only £1300?

Do you have evidence of this (bank statements or receipts)?

What is the deposit and does it relate to the rent?

Was the deposit protected and if so where?

The deposit company I use ask me to enter the amount of monthly rent, so the information may be held by them.

In the future you might be better off putting £50 per month into a savings account.

But I am not a financial advisor!

the DPA says they must keep your data secure but alos says that they should not keep it longer than necessary. This could be read as they should have kept it or told you they were destroying it and offering to let you take it away or it could be read as they were no longer processing the data they are obliged to destroy it to keep the information contained therein safe. They have clearly opted for the latter

Now, your LL is onliged to keep a copy so their refusal to hand it over menas you can ask for it under the DPA. He can ask you for the statutory tenner so get this inwriting and if you get a refusal ypu go to the Information Commissioner with a complaint

Because the original rent amount signed for by all parties was for £1300.

I have been paying £1350 to build up a credit.

LL now says that the original rent amount was £1350! which is not the case as will be seen on original tenancy agreement.

 

If i can ever get holdof it.... You say the data will have been destroyed? Is there no requirment tohold info for a set period of time?