Hi Sali, thanks for your support. They are letting agents, they have an office. I addressed the letter to LL c/o letting agent. Cheers

Thank you sali your help is very much appreciated. The recorded delivery was sent addressing the landlord c/o the estate agent as it was shown as contact legal address of the LL in the tenancy agreement. So can I deliver it direct to the lettingagent who was acting on behalf of the letting agent?

Hi Sali I sent it by recorded delivery. My tracking says postman left a note to collection as nobody was there when he tried to deliver it. It is on the process of returning to the sender. What would be my next step? Please advise.

Hi All, Thanks for sali for taking time to repond. This is the letter I have drafted with the help of a post from this forum and customising it to meet my case. Please see if it is okay to sent. Dear Sir, I am writing to you concerning my tenancy of the premises at [address]. My tenancy in the above property ended on the 07/05/2010 and I moved out of the property on that day. According to the section 1.8.5 of the tenancy agreement, you agreed to refund the deposit less any deductions within 14 days of the tenancy is completed. You haven’t refunded the deposit fully or partially yet. I request you to refund the full amount of £800.00 within 14 days of the receipt of this notice. If you are not refunding the deposit because of any concerns regarding the condition of the property when I left it at the end of the tenancy I have disputes. If you are planning to deduct some amount from my deposit to cover any damages please note: The deposit must not be regarded as extra rent, to be used to improve the condition of the property. Any amount deducted from it must be equivalent to the amount needed to replace “like with like”. For example, if the carpet was worn at the start of the tenancy, you cannot retain the amount that would pay for a brand new carpet. You cannot deduct the replacement value of any item, even if it was brand new at the start of the tenancy, as this would be "betterment". You can only deduct from the deposit a percentage of the item's value, based on (a) its on condition at the start of the tenancy (which you must prove using the inventory from the start of the tenancy), and (b) the expected life of the item. Nor can you make deductions from the deposit for general “wear and tear”. The tenant is only liable for damage that creates extra cost; the deposit is not there to provide a redecoration fund. You must redecorate at your own expense. In any of the above cases please provide me with the following documents if you are not sending me a full refund of the deposit £800.00 within 14 days of the receipt of this notice i. As the deposit was paid after 6 April 2007, you the landlord are required by law (Housing Act 2004) to keep the money in a separate account, and to provide the tenant with a written statement detailing (a) exactly what the deposit covers and (b) when the money will be returned. Please provide evidence that you have complied with this statutory duty. ii. Please provide me with a copy of the check-in inventory detailing the condition of the property which is agreed and signed by me and your agent at the time of me checking in to the property. iii. Please provide me with a copy of the check-out inventory detailing the condition of the property which is agreed and signed by me and your agent at the time of me checking out of the property. iv. As the deposit was paid after 6 April 2007, you the landlord are required by law to keep the money in a separate account, and to provide the tenant with a written statement detailing (a) exactly what the deposit covers and (b) when the money will be returned. Please provide evidence that you have complied with this statutory duty. I will therefore be in a position to demonstrate that it is unreasonable for you to keep any part of the deposit, should you be unable to produce the requested evidence and matters proceed to court. You must remember that the deposit is my money. You must account for it properly. It is a common misconception that the deposit belongs to the landlord, but that is not the case and withholding it without proper grounds is unlawful. I require your reply to arrive no later than 14 days after the date of this letter, together with your cheque for any amount not in dispute. If I receive no satisfactory reply by then, I will begin a country court action for recovery of my deposit without further warning. The Court can order you to pay back the deposit, and the proceedings are very straightforward. Also, the Courts are very sympathetic to tenants whose landlords do not fulfil their statutory obligations. I look forward to hearing from you within 14 days. Yours faithfully, [signed] Thanks

Hi Thanks for all who replied especially sali. I went through the Tenancy agreement. It is an AST. There are lot of silly errors in it. Like two pages having same page number and incomplete sentences. The points which I think I have breached 1. Fitting Locks on four door. Out of which one door wass damaged before i occupied the property. 2. Mould in the bathroom which was there before I occupied but she claims its me. 3. She says I haven't cleaned the chimney. She never gave me an oppertunity to clean it or restore it to the original condition. Eventhough I had days left on my tenancy to do that. She was aware of people sharing the place. She didn't pick on that. But it seems like a breach of contractual terms. 1. I put the doors to add security as the common stairway was a hanging out place for drug users. after repeated request the agent didnt do anything about it. 2. I DIDN'T SIGN ANY INVENTRY or any documents which describes the condition of the property. 3. I didnt sign the contract on the day. She phoned me 2-3 months later and told me that I haven't signed the tenancy and I went there to sign cant remember what date is that. 4. THERE is no other communication between me and the agent at all after the occupation never I got any information regarding the deposit scheme. My deposit is £800.00 She is not willing to return any of it and threatens if the bill comes more than that I have to pay the excess. The contract says the deposit will be refunded after 14 days of the end of the tenancy after making any deductions. But I havent got any communication eventhough I asked her over phone to give me in writing. Do I have a valid point in any of these? Please help all the helps are highly appreciated. 2.

Hi Sali, Thanks for your replies, I very much appreciate that. I didnt take any permission from the LL for subletting. I will check my tenancy agreement and will post here. Thanks again.

Hi I left the property on 7th Last Month. Its 6 flats with a communal entrance. My friends were staying with me sharing the rent. But the tenancy agreement is only in my name. The Agent didn't give me an oppertunity to restore it to the original condition. Will I be liable to pay the excess if the repair bill is over my deposit. I think the agent doesnt want to pay me the deposit. I asked her to give me in writing why my deposit is not returned she said the full report is not ready yet and she threatened when the full report is sent I will be liable to pay the excess It is my friends who are still staying in the flat. I came to know that they havent changed the doors yet. I use to live in a property before from the same estate agent. I stayed in that property one more week after the tenancy agreement was over because the above flat was not ready for occupation. She asked me to pay that one weeks rent to her personal account than to the company account which I did. I think this agent runs some franchisee and she is trying to eat up the money.

Hi I was a tenant in a property and the agent deducted the deposit £800.00 because I have put locks on (4)individual doors - she claims now it has become multi-tenancy and the owner cannot get a re-mortgage. The lady said she has to change all the doors and claims the chimney was not cleaned in kitchen and there was mould in the bathroom. There was no damage apart from normal usage. She now threatens if the bill to repair is more than the deposit paid I will have to pay the extra. Could some one help? I put locks because the stairs was always full of drug users. I have told the agent about this but they havent done anything for it. Please help