Hi there, apologies on resurrecting an old thread, but there have been some advancements in the plot. I officially handed over the property on 15th May, having it inspected by both the landlord and the estate agent. They agreed the house was in good condition, except for the kitchen which the cleaning company I had paid neglected to clean properly. I then cleaned the kitchen myself. I was told on the day that I would receive the deposit back in full (£1900) early the next week (beginning 20th May). By Thursday I had still not received anything, so called the landlord to remind him. He said it would be in my account the next day. The next day, I received just £900 into my account. I sent the landlord a text message asking him to confirm how much he had deposited. He replied with "Hang On". He didn't get back to me, so I sent another text to him this morning asking him to confirm. His reply was "Hi. Please bear with me, I've been tied up. But 'll come back to you soon". I feel he just stalling for time, and may not possibly have the time. The house we rented is now up for sale as he cannot find new tenants for the rate he wants. Would it be best to sent him a letter before action now, informing him that I intend to pursue for breach of section 214 of the housing act (non-compliance for securing the deposit) and failing to return my deposit in full with no explanation of any deductions? Thanks

Well I have photos of all the work that was not done. In the kitchen, it wasn't just a case of work not done well, it was work not done at all. The carpets may possibly be simply too stained (young children with pens are messy...) so I may be prepared to let them off on that. There were 2 cleaners from 9.45am until 5.30pm, they never gave any allusions to it being too much work for them. I showed them around the entire house in the morning, and they said it was all fine. Would it be reasonable then to simply get another cleaner (we have a gardener that also has a cleaning company) to give us a quote on the work that needs re-doing and ask for that amount back from ECOPHY? I'm not after any profit or compensation here, I just want what I pay for to be done right.

First of all, sorry if this is in the wrong place. Anyway, I moved out of my 4 bedroom rented house last Wednesday. The Tuesday before, I had arranged for ECOPHY, a cleaning company, to conduct a full end of tenancy clean, including all carpets and the cooker. The cost for this was £350. After the clean, I had a quick look around, said I was happy, and paid them the sum in cash. So the day after, I meet with the landlord to do a handover inspection. It turns out that they had barely touched the kitchen. None of the cupboards were cleaned inside or out, the tiles above the oven were greasy still, the fridge hadn't been cleaned, the surfaces hadn't been cleaned and the floor was sticky (I believe they had mopped them, but with what I have no idea). On top of this, there are still marks on the carpets in most rooms. On that Wednesday, I phoned them up to complain and they said they would send someone out to do the kitchen again this week. I still had not had a confirmation from them, so emailed them today saying it needed doing ASAP, or I would have to do the work myself. In this case, I would expect a full or partial refund. Shortly after, I recieved this as a reply: "Dear ***** Regarding your email about the cleaning we conducted, I am sorry to hear that you are not happy. On the day you was shown around the property and you said you was very happy, then after the inspection you paid the account in full. The point you make about the cooker, we cleaned hundreds of ovens and it all depends on where you are starting from, the oven we cleaned for you was in a very state and not cared for, so in the time allowed the clean was exceptional. The same applies to other areas of the property including the kitchen, the floor had a thick film of dirt that was about 2 mm thick in parts and had stuck fast. When it comes to cleaning, there is only so much we can do in a set time and it depends on how dirty the item is when you start, and sorry to say we was starting from ground in dirt. However, under the circumstance you so that you could remove some of the stains in the carpet, I do not believe this possible as some of things are ink, I am will to refund £25 as a good will gesture. I am not prepared to send a new team to the property as I believe the £350 including vat was good value for money, and this was a discounted price already. The property was fair dirtier than expected and the job conducted was over and above, we even cleaned urine of the walls and scrub the skirting in the downstairs toilet which was covered in urine. Please provide you bank details for the good will gesture so we can send you the £25. Regards ***** Ecophy Cleaning Services Ltd" I am considering a small claims case against them, but I am unsure of my legal position. Can I claim money back for a job poorly done? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

It's very hard to say, without any recent published cases, how and when judges scale the fines. All I know is what shelter told me - If you have been a good tenant and always paid your rent on time, not destroyed the place etc, you should be awarded the maximum amount. But until I see a case since the localism act came into legislation, it is very hard to say.

If you lose the case, then you are indeed open to the defendants costs in this type of case. This is why I would suggest professional legal advice to ensure you have a case. In my interpretation, your deposit should have been secured no later than 6th May 2012. This wasn't the case, so you should win any case without even trying. However, my interpretation may be wrong, and as I previously said, I would hate for you to go into a losing battle after what I've said.

I don't have personal experience insofar as going to court. However I have read everything I can find on the issue available on the internet, including the government legislations, and had a nice chat with a woman at shelter about it. I am moving out of my current rented house very soon and my deposit is not protected, hence the reading up I don't think the fact that your deposit has not been protected in the last 4 contracts would really matter...Up until the localism act came into effect last year, many landlords got away with non-compliance simply by securing the deposit before the hearing, nullifying any charges. That is no longer the case however. I was advised by shelter that a judge will tend to award the maximum fine unless there have been issues with rent payments etc. I have been unable to find any recent cases though, since the localism act came into effect, all of the successful cases I have found date before this. I would advise though, due to the high costs of the hearing, to at least have a one-time chat with a solicitor, as while I can provide advice on what I have found, I am by no means an expert and would hate for you to act upon any perhaps wrongly given advice and lose a case.

To comply with the localism act 2011, he would have had to protect the deposit by 5th or 6th May 2012. As he has failed to do this, he has certainly breached the act. You can claim compensation between 1 and 3 times the deposit amount, however it would not be a SCC. You can now also start the claim up to 6 years after tenancy has ended. To start, you need to fill in an N208 form, provide evidence that the deposit amount was paid and also that it was registered late. The hearing fees for these cases however are in excess of £1000, so your total court costs could be in excess of £1500. Of course assuming you win, you can claim these costs from him as well. The lack of a GSC is a seperate matter and one that I'm afraid I know very little about. I do believe though that it is quite serious, not sure if it will help your case for non protection of the deposit.

The following may not be good legal reasoning, but it is my personal feelings: Before we moved into the property, I was in the armed forces, leaving, and had very little time to find a property and save up for a deposit etc. The royal british legion were going to hold a bond equivalent to the deposit amount. They quite often help serving and ex-serving personnel like this. However, the landlord refused this, saying he wanted it protected under a scheme of his own choosing. I needed £1900 fast, and so I had to sell my (quite nice) car quickly and buy an ancient heap of junk. I reminded him plenty of times throughout the year that it needed protecting, but he didn't bother. That's a bit of a slap in the face to say the least. It's not like this guy forgot. In fact it took a lot of questioning to finally get him to admit it wasn't protected. It's outright lying and deception I feel that if landlords constantly abuse and flout the laws designed to protect tenants, without being punished, then they will never improve. Also, according to a phonecall I had with shelter, there is still a legal claim for compensation due to non-compliance of the legislation.

I had a conversation with shelter a few days ago regarding this. I was informed that a tenant can still file a claim for non-compliance up to 6 years after the tenancy has ended. I was also advised that even if a deposit was returned in full and in a timely manner, the claim would still be valid - the landlord will still be liable to pay 1-3x the deposit amount.

Hello there We moved into our house on 30th March last year, and had agreed we would pay our deposit incrementally, with the last payment being 11th August last year. The total amount was £1900 deposit. This year, the landlord wanted to increase our rent from £950 to £1250, so I told him to forget it, and handed in my notice to terminate my tenancy. I have asked him several times to secure the deposit over the last year, via the estate agent. I was constantly fobbed off saying it would be done soon. So yesterday, I contacted the estate agent saying that I had been in touch with all 3 deposit agencies (I know there are 4 now, but there were only 3 when he should have secured it) and had been advised it wasn't secure. He finally told me that in the end, the landlord held the money, and that I would get it back within 10-14 days of leaving the property. I requested he return it immediately, reminding him of the legal consequences, including the fine of 1-3 times the deposit. He point blank refused and said I would have to wait until after we move out. I was advised by shelter that the best course of action would be to fill in an N208 and start proceedings that way. I was also advised that even if he did return the deposit, I could still take him to court for non compliance. So I have a couple of questions really. 1) Does the fact that the deposit was paid over half a year affect this? 2) Can I still claim for non-compliance if he returns the deposit after I leave? 3) If I do start proceedings with an N208, what are the real costs for the hearing? I've read a lot of conflicting information regarding this on this internet. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks