Hi I'm hoping someone might be able to give me some advice. Me and three two friends moved into a property in January this year. Our heating and hot water system never worked correctly and the landlord refused to give us a copy of the gas safety certificate. After months of wrangling with the landlord to try and get him to fix the heating and hot water system we gave up and decided to move out. We were only half way through our tenancy agreement and didn't have a break clause in our contract, so we had to ask the landlord to end our tenancy agreement. At first he refused, but after taking advice from a solicitor we threatened to sue him if he didn't let us move out and eventually he agreed. We moved out of the property in August this year, but so far the landlord has only returned £1,500.00 of our £1,889.33 deposit. He has stated to us on numerous occasions via phone calls and text messages that he would refund the full deposit, but it's clear that he isn't going to. We don't hold an address for him, but we have sent him an email and text message stating we will take him to court if he doesn't refund the full deposit. He hasn't responded to this. Our deposit is not held in a TDC. We received a very badly worded email from the estate agent that he uses, claiming that the landlord has had to incur damages of more than £500, but we didn't damage anything, so this is clearly false. Can we enter a claim for the remaining £489.33 in the county court using form N208? If we lose do we have to pay the landlords legal fees?

Hi, I'm 3 months into a 6 month minimum term AST. Quite out of the blue, my live in landlord told me he didn't think i was 'fitting in' with the house. Although not sure why! I can only guess its because I do a lot of my own things and have my own friends etc. Anyway, he told me he doesn't want to just hit me with a months notice or anything, but thinks long term it would be better if I look for somewhere else - that was last week. I got a text message from him today asking if I'd started looking as he ideally wants the room reoccupied by the end of Nov (so in a month). Is he within his rights to ask me to leave so soon into the contract? (I haven't missed and payments or caused any damage to the property etc.)

I moved out from my old flat at the beginning of last month but still haven't got my deposit back. The agent told me the landlord will contact me to make an agreement on the amount of money returning to me, but he never contacted. When I called, first he asked me to prove I have paid all the bills. After this he asked for a very high price for cleaning of sofa and mattress, but the inventory form never said I made them dirty. Now the lady who answered my following phone call said he was ill and I have to wait until next week for a reply. Somehow this lady also mentioned something like she is the one who manages my landlord's emails which made me so confused. I rented the flat at the price he asked, I kept the flat in a good condition, used professional cleaning service when moving out. Now he still wanna charge me for some stain on the mattress that doesn't even exist, fine. But at least I expect a communication. In all those emails and phone calls I don't see any intention of communication. Thanks for anyone who read this post. I just really need to complain this somewhere. I know I can raise a dispute eventually, still I feel so upset recently because of his attitude. I searched online and realize there are so many services for the landlords to check tenants but so few supports for tenants.

Hi. I apologise in advance for the long post but I dont know what else to do. Myself and my husband moved into our current rented property in July 2011. The flat is a converted house (3 flats and 1 retail shop) and our flat was a main room and a conservatory (this was used as a bedroom) Everything was going well apart from our landlady always coming round and snooping round the outside of the building (looking through windows etc) which was a tad annoying. We were told that we could not adjust the heating temparature (had to leave it on 18 all of the time) We noticed more when the winter was approaching that the flat was getting very very cold. As the heating was only on for 1 hour am and 1 hour pm, we had to invest in some oil electric heaters. They took the edge off especially since I have to get up for work at 6am and the heating did not come on until 8am! We got a telephone call rom our landlady around Feb 2012 asking if we had changed our electric habits as she had a large bill in (rent includes electric) We stated to her that due to the winter we had to have these heaters. She was not happy about this but what could we do? Freeze in our own home? Even as I write this, I have a couple of layers on. We noticed that the conservatory window was coming away from the walls and noticed a few other defects (alot of damp and black mould creeping up the walls) this mould has also ruined alot of our belongings over the time no matter where we put things. The windows in the conservatory were also warped letting through drafts. When it came to renewing our tenancy this year, we pointed out all of the defects in the flat and asked for these to be repaired. 3 months on, we had no contact from the landlady at all. My husband has major back surgery in August 2012 and has been off work for the last 12 months. Regardless the rent and bills have been paid by me. One day it got to the point that my husband was in so much pain due to the cold that he investigated where the drafts were coming from in the bedroom. He pulled back some of the corner wallpaper and was horrified to see daylight! The conservatory wall was not actually fixed to the rest of the building. It was at this point we took lots of pictures and I called the landlady. I advised her that the problem was getting worse and she needed to get someone out ASAP. She was very uninterested about doing this and asked me to arrange someone to have a look. So I did! A few days later, a conservatory repair specialist came out to have a look at the property and was horrified at the condition. The conservatory was not safe and he recommended that it was replaced as it was beyond repair. I telephoned the landlady (from work where calls were recorded) and advised her of this. She was less than happy with what I was saying to her and almost disbeliving. As she was so non committal on the phone, I felt that I had no other choice but to call my local environmental health department. They were lovely and reassured me that I had done the right thing. Later the same day, the landlady left a message on my home number (where she knew I was not at home) stating that she was coming round with her builder to "see what he says" the tone of the message was not only accusing but very patronising. I arranged to have the time off work to be at the property with my husband and I called the landlady back. When I spoke to her to state that I had arranged the time off, she stated that I did not need to do that and as the property was hers and she would be paying any bill that I should not be concerned. I said that as I rent the property, I would like to be there (and also that I dont trust her as far as I could throw her) she responded with "well thats your choice" I was disgusted with her attiude then reminded her that as the landlady of the property it is her responsibility to maintain the property which she has not done. She then accused me of intimidating her as I was asking for the work to be done. I was not forceful, agressive or rude on the phone to her. (this is why I call her from work as all of the calls are recorded) She said that she was not continung to discuss with me and she put the phone down. It was at this point that we moved our bed (or at least our mattress) into the living room so we now only have 1 room that we can use (even that is freezing) When she arrived with her builder a couple of days later, she did not utter a word to me at all and only spoke to my husband. Her builder agreed that the conservatory needed replacing and had been built incorrectly with incorrect materials also. She did ask him if there was anyway to "just fix it" and he said no there wasnt (smart builder). Environmental health arrived a couple of days after this and looked over the whole property. He was not impressed at the condition and went away to write his report. This came back just before my husband and I went on our belated honeymoon. This report was also forwarded to our landlady. The environmental health report stated that the proerty sufferes from extreme cold, has been split without planning permission, she does not hold correct licences for a house of multiple occupancy (as it is now classed) The fire safety is not in place for other flats and no smoke alarms, the damp & dry rot is all over, the conservatory is unsafe, the heating should be controled by each flat and not set temp or times with other issues too. The landlady has also not held our deposit in a deposit guarantee scheme. When we arrived home yesterday, we were greeted by a nice solicitors letter on behalf of the landlady. She has instructed them to contact us regarding the environmental health report and the repairs. The landlady would like us to terminating the existing lease voulentarrily with some form of compensation. The finanical situation of myself and my husband is that I am the only wage earner, my husband is in receipt of ESA and is not going to be fit to go back to work for at least a further 3-6 months. The coldness is not helping his recovery at all. We cannot afford to move, we cannot afford another deposit, we cannot afford the removals costs either. We have had to send my husbands son back to stay with his mother as it is too cold here for him also and we are on the council waiting list (very low down tho) Sending his son back was heartbreaking for both my husband and I. Although we desperately need to get out of here, we just dont know what to do. If I were to give her the property back, what sort of compensation should I ask for? I have 8 months left on the tenancy @ £545.00 per month. All the other properties in the area are a min rental of £650 per month plus bills. All I can afford each month is £800 inc all bills. I am working all hours just to keep our heads above water (50 hours per week). Any help and/or advice would be appreciated.

Mum moved out last month from a tenancy that began June 2011. The monthly rent was £750 and she paid £1500 moving in. The small print of the contract states this was one month in advance and one month to "remain a head at all times" and therefore the landlord is denying that this constituted a deposit which would have to be protected by a tenancy deposit scheme. The rent was due on the first of each month. Her last payment was 1st August: £750 She then wrote to the landlord to say she'd be moving out early September. He asked about moving out early so someone who wanted the property could move in but the person in the end dropped out. She moved on the 8th of September. Mum is trying to claim back £550 owed rent (£750 divided by 30 days X 8 days she remained in the property would total £200) but the landlord refuses to respond to letters, texts or phone calls. Firstly can anyone advise what the situation is on the "non-depoit" deposit. Can you take £1500 of someone before they move in and claim it's technically not a deposit to negate you against legal obligations you'd have if it was? Also what's the best course of action to take. The concern is that the landlord will eventually get back to us and claim he's wrote off the remainder due generic repairs. However I've said that she could possibly use against him in such matters is the fact the gas boiler was not serviced once in three years - something a landlord is legally obliged to do annually - add to the fact that the gas fire in the house was 'condemned' during the tenancy - as examples of the landlord not living up to his obligations and that the cost of repairs he's trying to claim can be dismissed as a result of evident signs of neglect of the property over the course of the tenancy. All the monies owed and contracts signed are with an agency who now deny having involvement. They say he (who owns a number of properties) took 'control' of dealing with it during the length of mum's tenancy. The original one expired six months from the start but had just continued. Any advice? Thank you

Please could someone give me some advice? To cut a long story short my landlady served me with a section 21 notice as work needed carrying out on the property I was renting and she was unwilling to pay out. My local council were unable to house me within the notice period but have now rehoused me and I have handed back the keys to my old house. However my landlady still went ahead to get a possession order which was granted on 20th September. It states I have to be out on or before 4th October and pay £244.50 plus a fixed fee by then too. I am now out of the property but there's no way I can afford that sum of money by Friday. I live with my 2 children on my own and work part time plus have had the additional moving costs. I have spent 4 hours at CAB today but they were not helpful at all and were talking about court bailiffs and mounting court costs. Surely I can't pay what I don't have and there must be others in my situation? I just don't know what to do. Thanks

hi, im having some issues with my previous landlord i moved out the end of april and still have not received my deposit back. they have advised because they live out of the uk they do not need to use a tenancy deposit scheme however on research i have found that does not matter. i am being blamed for alot of damage that was present in the property when i moved in. can i make a claim at small claims however id they live abroad? do i need to give them so much notice also? since i mentioned the deposit scheme they have went silent but before i advise i will be raising a small claims case i need to make sure i can take them there due to there location. i was gonna send an email stating please take this as 14 days notice. if the issue surrounding the deposit is not resolved then i will be taking the case to small claims where i will pursue the maximum compensation for non use of upto 3 times the deposit amount and legal costs. they also wanted me to call then and stated im not giving a gd enough reason as to not want them to call but i refused and stated email only so i have a paprr trail of all communication. its been nearly 3 weeks is there any timeframe on how long they have to return my deposit? all helps appreciated.

My assured shorthold tenancy was entered into on the 5th July 2012 and I was of the opinion that this automatically expires on the 5th July 2013and therefore there is no need to provide notice to our landlord that we would be moving out on that date. We have found a new flat and intend to move in in early july, however when I phoned the rental agency he informed me that we need to give me 2 months notice? how can this be when there is nothing in the contract stating this and we have a section 21 letter from the landlord (sent to us when the contract was originally signed) stating that they will require possession on or before the 4th July 2013!

Dear all, I will try and keeo this brief and appreciate any help or addvice as I'm unsure where to go or start. I was moving back to Leeds after a short spell with my parents as I'd found a job there, a place to stay and to be with friends and family in the area. It was a single bedroom basement flat advertised on Gumtree at £400 pm. I arranged to view it, handed over a deposit of £450 and offerred a few months rent up front to help things along and sicne the paperwork / tennancy she didn't have right then. This was to be by direct debit and I duely requested bank details. The landlord then went away on holiday, gave me the keys in as I'd handed over that £450 and told me I was free to move things in and move in. She was away for some two weeks and over those two weeks I had no electric, had to borrow "tokens" from other tennants, friends and family had to bring me blankets, duvets, flasks of hot water and cooked meals, it was a total nightmare and everybody was very stressed and upset, it affected me and my partner a great deal. All the while having to put up with noise, music, shouting, screaming and general anti social behaviour from flats above. She still refused to provide bank details despite numerous requests over those two weeks. Upon her return I had to badger her for the tennancy agreement and to take my paperwork, get it signed and be done with it as I was starting to get a bit suspicious. She came shouting and screeming kicking the door one evening about how I was to hand over the money, she doesnt want my paperwork, statements, refrences etc, she wanted my money "now" and no I would not get a receipt. ???? Over the coming days, I had to call the police on nmersous occasions, 999 on three as she had her brother and toher tennants kicking down the door threatening to kill me if I didn't hand over the money now,and how they would so my arse off and I was getting nothing from her ever. I spent a terrifying week, barricaded in the bathrooom, subject to this every night, unabale to eat, sleep or relax, was just awful. I ahd to sneak out of the house when nobody was there to avoud confrontation. Due to all the above, the stress and fear I was alte for work more than once, and as such lost my job, which I was doing well at, and my income. One day after sneaking out when I could a large burly tatooed man crossed the room and threatened to rip my effing head off if I returned there and slice me good. I have since moved out, used what savings I have to find elsewhere and am hoping I can get some help with the rent untill such a time I find work or return to University. I have since found out the previous tennant of the apartment is taking her to court, although I do not know what for. I just need to know where I stand, can and will I get that deposit back as I am deperate for it, what about loss of earning to this point, the abuse, harassment, right to live peacefully, stress etc? It has affected a lot of people. I am havingt o see a councillor as I still find it difficult to relax and sleep. All help and advice appreciated. Phillip

Tenant A had to undergo cancer related operations and decides to sell business through agent X. Four accepted offers fell through and tenant A gets forced into a early release contract (5 years left on the lease). Tenant A never signs any contract to be released from contract due to disagreement with terms of contract. Landlord approaches agent X to sell tenants A business and building. Sale goes through successful and tenant B moves in (while tenant A is undergoing treatment) with a 15 year lease. Tenant A had 'vacated' the building in good faith pending the terms of the release contract which allowed the landlord to sell building as well. Tenant B contacted tenant A asking where is the staff and stock - had been sold a running concern by the landlord. New landlord demanded a tenant in the building with a 15 year lease as part of the building sale. It does look like the landlord had to get rid of tenant A and the 5 year lease to sell the building with tenant B and a 15 year lease. Selling business and building without tenant A's signature on an agreement to do so is illegal?! Surely tenant A has not given up the 5 years still left - which has a value equal to the profit the tenant could potential generate and the landlord has denied the tenant the legal opportunity to do so?

Hi everyone, I need some advice concerning my current situation as a Lodger, and I would be grateful if you could help me. Recently I had to move to Cambridge to start a new job and I had to look for a new accommodation. I decided to rent a room because I also rent a flat in Portsmouth with my girlfriend. When I visited the different places, I made clear that twice every month I would go back to Portsmouth for the weekend and also that I wanted my girlfriend to be able to come visit me every other weekend in Cambridge. Some did not agree with this, which is fine, and some said that it would not be a problem. I picked the place that looked the best to me and and which suited that top requirement. I agreed with the current landlord from start that my girlfriend could come and visit me twice every month. Everything was fine until my girlfriend decided to come visit me. Basically my LL has rent the room next to mine to a girl who has asked if her sister could come sometimes to visit her. The LL said it was not possible. Because of that, my LL has changed her mind concerning what we had agreed in the first place and now wants me to leave to avoid having problems, she does not want to justify why I can have guests when others can't. I understand the situation even though I'm pretty disappointed as this was part of what we had agreed. Because I did not sign any contract and did not sign any inventory, I'm a bit worried about my deposit. My LL has asked me to try to move within a month today but again this was done verbally. I said I'll do my best but told her that I could not promise anything. For the moment we're still in good terms, but I don't think I can trust her anymore. I'm worried that if she does not find someone immediately after I leave, she might deduce the "loss" from my deposit. Is this something she could do as a lodger seems to have barely any rights? What precautions do you think I should take? For the moment I have only sent her an email saying that I would try my best to leave by the 10th of October. I did not mention it before, but I've paid my deposit and my rent via bank transfer. Thanks for your help,

Hello All, What will happen if my landlord and I am not able reach any agreement about the deposit amount to be returned. LL is having his own terms and conditions in order for us to even proceed towards sitting down to agreeing the costs. What will happen in this case? I am not ready to fulfill his terms. So if the LL and T are not able to sit down and decide upon a figure, Will it taken as the entire deposit amount in dispute? My deposit is with DPS. Thanks for your replies. -Armit

cut along story short like most off the threads that i have read about the DPS and landlords issues have got my head spinning,. my story is that back in 2011 i rented a house from the local letting agent at that time i was in a good job and the rent was not a problem .. but in 2012 i lost my job due to company/corporate restructuring. and found my self out of work at this point i spent my time trying to find new employment but things are now not so Rosie on the job find lark..but i manage to stay on top of things till the money run out. then i headed to the local unemployment office and as most of you would of come across a lot of help comes from there in turn i fell behind on the rent and after the 10 week my land lord issued me with the section 21b followed by the s8 as all this was happening i got advise and started to look in to getting thing right manage to get the rent below the 8 weeks.. but at this stage i decide to get out of this house and find a cheaper place to rent... and at this stage i started to read about the DPS system ... and found out that i never got issued with nothing more then a letter from the letting agent tell me that my deposit was going to be with DPS and the letter covered the basic information on the DPS .. this then prompt me to contract the DPS which i they told me that there have not got me on there system... i had then confirm this with a email . i then contracted my landlord to ask where my deposit was ???? and with in three day i had a call from the letting agent tell me that there have cancelled the s8 ... and i then was told that the landlord had put my deposit of £1000.00 with DPS ... Now here the question ???? landlord has told me that i can use the deposit to pay off the arrears and i can move out .. without any issues over the house ... CAN i still take him to small claims court over the deposit if i leave and use the deposit to pay off the arrears.. facts that he never deposit the deposit with the DPS for over 23 months. he issued the section 21b an the s8 illegally because he never deposited my deposit money...

Can anyone offer some advice please. Until a couple of years ago I owned my own house and ran a successful business in Essex. I also bought 4 properties in the north of england which were rented out and managed by an agent. They all have mortgages on them. Due to the recession my business failed and rather than go bankrupt, I sold my house to pay off my debts and now live in a rented flat with my wife. However the houses are all in negative equity and the rental income just about manges to pay the mortgages and agent fees. I am 60 and have been unable to find any employment that is not zero hours and have not earned anything in over 6 months. My wife has a part time job which doesnt even cover our rent of £750 per month. We have now gone through nearly all of the money we had left from the sale of our house, down to under £2000 now . Would we be able to claim Housing Benefit?

Hello This is my first post- so please bare with me should I make a dreadful faux pas! I have recently moved house from a rented flat and am having several difficulties with my previous landlord. I began renting from my landlord in July 2012 and moved out on 3rd August 2013. The terms of the 'tenancy' included NO written or verbal contract. I was also asked specifically to pay my rent in cash every 4 weeks. Before moving in I paid a deposit of £485, equal to 4 weeks rent. I do not believe my landlord has placed this money with any kind of protection scheme. There has never been any mention on notice needed or that there would be any difficulty in re-releasing my deposit once I vacated the flat. Upon contacting my landlords who were abroad at the time- they were very friendly regarding my leaving and we exchanged pleasantries with no mention of any financial complications. The flat I rented was at the rear of their large country house- therefore our address is the same and my post goes to them first. Sinse moving out they have now said I must return my key through the letterbox as they do not wish to speak with me as they are 'in mourning for the loss of their dog' and will forward my mail on. The mail they have has been there for some weeks now and contains urgent highly confidential post from my bank. Throughout the 'tenancy' I have also had issues with them refusing to provide me with adequate waste disposal facilities and also withholding and even opening my mail! Now I am at a loss as to what to do. They have my post which they won't let me pick up and my deposit which is very much needed! I have contacted citizens advice this morning and am waiting to hear back- but apparently that may take days. Any advice greatly appreciated. * And before anyone says so- no, I won't be making this mistake again!

I moved into my property in Jan 2013 on a Assured Shorthold Tenancy, The day i moved in the Landlord did a inspection. 2 weeks later he wanted to complete another inspection of the property and i agreed. I took the day off work and waiting in for him to visit. He called 20 minutes before he was due and he said he has to cancel. So another week passed with no contact, he then asked to do another inspection and i said that i could not take anymore days off work and requested an inspection to be done on my day off. He called me to inform me that he needs to send a gas safe engineer to visit and complete a gas Safe Certificate. At the time my brother was staying for the weekend and at the time i informed the landlord i was not going to be at the property and he said could he let himself in and the engineer if i werent home. I said no. He then tried letting him self in and my brother was anxious as they were 4 of them, and he heard the landlord say i need to do a inspection anyway. He didnt gain access to the property and from there ignored all communications from me. The Electric meter was not working correctly, which he has failed to address and fix to date. I got advice and it has been classed as harassment from the landlord. A month later, i feel into rent arrears and he served me with a statutory demand notice and i was advised from a solictor that he cant threatened such notice without the intention of carrying it out. He then issued a Possession Order (without firstly providing a Section 21 notice). ^^This is what the landlord has said about the notice. I'm due to move out tomorrow and i need advice please. If anyone can help me with a template to send him that would be appreciated. Below is what the last communication recieved by the landlord.

Hi all! I'm new to the forums and quite urgently need some advice as to what I should do next! This is a bit of an essay but... it's worth a read and I will really appreciate any help you could offer! Basically, an old landlord of mine has 5 years after my tenancy ended put in a false claim through money claim online, saying that I didn't pay about 6 months rent...out of a 9 month tenancy and is trying to screw me in excess of 4500 quid. I missed the claim form, which they sent to my old address, and the first I heard about it was from their solicitors 28 days after judgement had been made against me by default. The fact of the matter is this: my rental account with them is actually in credit of about 3 quid! I paid on time every time by standing order with my bank up until the last month where I ran into financial difficulties and didn't pay it. However, they sent me a false statement of balance by e-mail requesting I actually hadn't paid about 6 months rent, which is just ridiculous! If I calculate their statement of balance with the correct figures, one months rent, plus 50 quid late payment fee, 10 for a reminder email, and 72 quid which they took out of my deposit for paying for cleaners and rubbish removal, the account is even. In fact they actually owe me 3 quid of my deposit still. At the time of the tenancy ending they sent me loads and loads of e-mails asking me for this money and although I did say I had been to the bank and checked their statement of balance they said they would not deal with my usual bank statements they wanted just the transactions between my account and theirs on headed paper from my bank... which when I asked the bank was told cannot be produced. However I made it clear to them that this statement of balance was incorrect and that they should check their account and amend it. Communication then went cold with them and I didn't hear from until this letter from their solicitor about 5 years later. This is what I have done so far: I have rang the court to confirm that judgement has been passed by default and it has. I have been to the bank and requested them to send me the relevant bank statements. I have contacted them by e-mail and sent them scanned in bank statements with the standing order underlined every month. They have not responded. I have then sent them a letter 3 days later, giving them 10 days to check their accounts and amend the statement of balance to reflect the true figures otherwise I will be submitting my evidence to the court and applying to have the judgement set aside and possibly make a counter claim against them. I tried to include some liability stating that if it is found by a court that their claim is false, I reserve the right to seek from them damages to the sum of 4500 quid (matching their claim) and requested that if they do discover they have made a mistake in putting together the statement of balance they should withdraw their claim against me and notify their intention of this within 10 days. This letter will arrive on Monday and I think 10 days is a reasonably time-frame given the situation and considering the clock is ticking... default judgement was made about 40 days ago now... and soon they could go to enforcement it if they wish. I have also done a subject access request on them (they are a limited company), giving them 40 days to give me all data they hold on me in an attempt to find out a bit more about what is going, what documents they still have from me with regard to this rental account and try and find some evidence that suggests that they are aware of these transactions going into their account and are still making a false claim anyway. I am not sure about the next step to take. I am thinking of telephoning them again on Monday or just waiting to see if they reply in the 10 days I have given them. Ideally I don't want to have to deal with this in court, but if they are not willing to withdraw or just ignore me, then I will have to. My question is, what options do I have with this case... Should I fill in the N244 applying to have the judgement set aside, using the fact I never received the claim form and explaining that I have evidence that suggests their statement of balance is incorrect? Furthermore, do you think I have grounds for a counter claim here? I have e-mail communication from 2009 where I said this statement of balance is incorrect etc. but they have gone ahead anyway, saying it is my responsibility to prove it. Or should I just apply to have the judgement set aside and apply to be awarded costs?? The big question is, do you think they have a duty to properly check their accounts and credit transactions from their tenants before pursuing you? and if so, is there any legislation stating this that I can rely upon when submitting my defence and counter-claim? Thanks and kind regards guys! Dec

I am renting in London with my wife and 2 kids. After we left our property our landlord carried out some rigorous checks on our apartment. He noticed that one of the panels of glass to the kitchen door was cracked. He wants to charge us for this. The problem is, is that my wife and I (truthfully) have no idea whether the damage was done by us or the previous tenants. We moved into the apartment one the day that the previous tenants moved out, so none of the rigorous checks that he is performing on behalf of the new tenants were carried out on our behalf. We pointed out various issues regarding the apartment to him after we moved in, including holes in the floor etc.. We also had to get a cleaner because of the state it was left in! I believe that he has no way to prove that it was done by us. (We are more than willing to pay, if it was done by us, but we don't like how he has dealt with us and don't want to just give in on this!) Any advice? Thanks.

Hi, Would appreciate some help if anyone can oblige. We (my partner and myself) have applied to rent another property and all checks and references went through ok, BUT on the reference from our present landlord, which was all satisfactory i.e rent always paid on time, house kept in good order, etc etc, but at the very end of his reference he wrote "despite *********'s criminal record I've always found them to be a very nice person and good tenant". Now, unfortunately i can't deny having a criminal record, (its not something I'm proud of and its not something i ever intend doing again), but the new landlord had agreed to rent us his property subject to all the references checking out, (which as i said we passed all ok), but now he's saying he's changed his mind due to my criminal record. So the questions i have are, A) Can he just change his mind after agreeing to go ahead and letting us pay for the referencing fees? B) Is my current landlord allowed to mention MY criminal record to a third party? C) Have i failed the reference checks? Because the letting agent hasn't said i have, they just said the landlord has changed his mind, due to my criminal record, that i was never asked about to start with, and as far as im aware im under no obligation to mention unless of course i was asked outright "Do you have a criminal record?" Which i would of genuinely answered honestly, and tried to stress that it is in my past and not something that will happen again. Many Thanks.

Moved out of a 5 bedroom property at the end of June LL is requesting payment for final utility bills but refuses to provide copies of the bills so the amounts can be verified unless I pay them a £25 charge. They're also alleging damage and cleaning charges against myself and the other tenants but again beyond listing a few items has provided no evidence, or any invoices, receipts etc including charges for their own time and petrol. They claim they cleaned the property themselves. The wording makes out that they are doing myself and the other tenants a favour by not charging us how much it is costing to them but don't actually specify how much it is costing. They also don't seem to wish to go via the DPS as they demand payment to be made immediately without proof and then we will receive our full deposits back. Private student accommodation - 5 people. Separate contracts, separate deposits. No inventory taken and no checkout list provided. After disputing the damages without evidence provided they are now attempting to levy £25 admin fee's on top.

hi, I'm really hoping someone can help me? To cut a long story short I rent my home from a housing association. Last year we had a devastating fire meaning virtually the whole of upstairs needed re building. Last august we moved back into the property being assured that it was safe and habitable. Much to my shock today I was informed during my annual gas safety check that I should have 2 wired smoke alarms in my property which was built in 1996- I only have one upstairs. Further more my alarm upstairs (non battery (operated) has been tested by an electrician and it is not working! I also have light switches that are not working. I am now feeling that my housing association have not acted with in the law by working with in the building regs. They have left me today with no working smoke alarms after promising to fix the problem today! I have been out and bought battery operated smoke alarms so I can at least sleep tonight. I would like some advice on where I should go from here? can I claim my rent back from living in this property which potentially isn't safe? Can I request a PAP test or a move? Any advice would be gratefully received!

I live on a first floor flat on top of a shop. The whole building is owned by the landlord. My bath was hardly draining and I unscrewed the bath drain screw thinking I could remove some clogged material (it being a hot day on a Sunday afternoon). I screwed it back on (after not being able to fish out anything). Unbeknownst to me I had broken the seal so the water was running out of the bath, onto the floorboards and through the ceiling downstairs, down the walls, and even down the light fitting downstairs. The landlord says I am responsible for the long list of repairs such as the laminate flooring downstairs may need re-doing as it's squelchy underneath, the wall need repainting, the ceiling may need to be re-done, his paper files are sodden, and as the electrics aren't working, his employer might not be able to come to work the following day. Landlord says if my deposit doesn't cover the cost of the repairs, he will charge me the excess. It transpired that the poor drainage was due to a lack of maintenance where years of gunk were trapped in the drainage pipes. I have only lived here a year. I have the plumber's invoice describing this. Am I totally liable for all the damage, which I suspect he is exaggerating?

Hi all I'm looking for some advice here as I'm having no end of problems with my letting agent, Your Move. I have found their standard of service and communication to be appalling whilst being charged extortionate fees. They have carried out repairs without first obtaining quotes, not returned calls, not paid money into my account on the date that they assured me they would and generally been downright rude. If my tenant only stays for six months I have calculated that I'll have paid them 60% of the rental income in fees, with their monthly management fee being 18.3%. I had to chase them to obtain an invoice for a repair that was carried out on a 9 year old washing machine and this showed a part which cost £55. In correspondence with one of their managers he revealed the part actually cost £53.88 but they allowed their contractors to round this up as he had to source the part, this was on top of a £40 job charge which I assumed would include sourcing parts. I was also forwarded an email from the contractor which had been sent to Your Move in which he admitted that the machine was old and anything could go wrong at that age. Had I been contacted prior to the original repair I'd just have bought a newer second hand machine in the first place and saved myself some money. On top of that I had to chase Your Move in order to have them chase the tenant for late paid rent despite me paying for a fully managed service. I was told they give the tenants 10 days after the rent due date before they even begin chasing it, which was never once explained to me prior to this incident. I'm now past the point where there is less than two months left on the tenancy so I cannot serve notice, although with the exception of the late paid rent which was a simple oversight on the tenants part and rectified within an hour of it being brought to their attention, they have been good tenants and I do not want to evict them for no reason other than a poor standard of service from the letting agent. My contract states that if I cancel the agreement with the tenants in place or move to another agent with the tenant still in place I'll owe Your Move one month's rent plus VAT. However there is a clause that states if either party breaches contract and a satisfactory resolution cannot be reached and the agent is at fault I can cancel my contract with Your Move without any penalty. My question therefore is whether or not the above issues, which is just scraping the surface of a downright joke of a service, will constitute a breach of contract on Your Move's part? As far as I'm concerned I'm paying them for a service which I am not receiving and do not think they are complying with their duties as agents, I have sent a letter to their customer relations department and have been assured of a response sometime next week but any additional advice is very much appreciated. I realise I should never have signed a contract with such extortionate fees but I found myself with a vacant property at very short notice and very little time to get it all sorted out and stupidly assumed a company the size of Your Move would be professional and fee competitively.

Hi everyone. After 6 weeks of attempting contact with our former landlord and one bounced cheque to show for our efforts we are now ready to move on to court action. Some background... We moved into the house last May and at the time everything seemed fine, we rented it through an estate agent who were there to basically set it up and then the landlord would be left to manage it himself, he seemed a nice guy and told us how he was spending more time at his girlfriends not far away than living here so after spending 6 months attempting to sell the place he wanted to rent it out to cover the mortgage. Things were fine until the turn of the year when we received a letter address to the tenant from a solicitor saying that they were working on behalf of his mortgage company and that they would apply to repossess the house if payments were not met in the next 7 days, he assured us it was a mix up and that he had changed mortgages but with us having a new born baby it was a worry we didn't need and that was when things went down hill. About a month or so afterwards he called us to say that he had decided to sell again, this was followed the next day by a call saying he had found someone privately and within a week they had viewed it and apparently agreed to buy it so we were handed our 2 months notice. On the day we left he came around to look at the place and pointed out some damage to the carpet upstairs due to our cat which I didn't have a problem with, he said to us that he would go away and speak to the person he bought the carpet off and see if he could get a small piece to replace it which was fine. 2 weeks went by without hearing from him which is when we attempted to make phone contact however from that point until now all phone calls have been ignored, we then checked and found out it wasn't in a DPS so we started the process of sending a letter taken from the Shelter website asking for our deposit back and a week later dated 2 weeks prior claiming a few deduction that we didn't agree with and a cheque for just over half the deposit, our plan was to cash the cheque and write a letter disputing the difference however the cheque bounced and the landlord is refusing to sign for any more recorded delivery letters. I've even gone into the local pub where I know he drinks and have given the owner my name and number asking him to call me but despite him passing it on he still refuses to contact us, we are now about to send the final letter before action so I've got a few questions about what I do from now. 1) Should we send copies of all documents we plan to send to the court to him with the LBA? 2) How do we proceed if he is refusing to sign for our letters? 3) The owner of the pub has told me he's renting the property to someone different rather than selling it, which makes me think he might have audacity to move us on just to keep our deposit, so how long does it take for land registry to process on their website and would it be worth sending the letter to that address too? Sorry if I've waffled on a bit but as you can imagine it's a situation that's aggravated me greatly. Many thanks for any help.

Hi I know this has probably been asked a thousand times on here but looking for some advice getting my deposit back We rented a house in December 2010 for £850 per month, we paid a deposit of £1700 on the house. The land lord has NEVER placed this money into a deposit protection scheme In February this year we had a spot of money troubles and agreed with the land lord to use ½ our deposit to pay Februarys rent which we did. This now leaves £850 deposit I am due back. This arrangement was never documented anywhere and our 3 tenancy agreements (6 months each) all state they have the £1700 deposit. We agreed to hand keys back on Tuesday 11th June. On Monday 10th June I had an email asking me to drop all keys into the office by 17:00 that day, to which I replied we are handing them back tomorrow as agreed as we still had things to move out. They replied saying that they desperately needed the keys back for the next morning so could we get our stuff out and leave the keys with a neighbour who is a relative of the landlord. Not wanting to cause any unnecessary bother I agreed, moved my last few things and handed keys to the neighbour. We left the house and gardens in a very very clean state, It was cleaner than when we moved in, oven was spotless, floors, gardens etc….and no damage to property. It has now been over 3 weeks and no deposit has been returned and they have not even done an inspection with us present! After sending various emails and getting no reply, I eventually got through to the office manager on the phone. She said she would call the landlord to find out what was going on. She rang me back and said he has had a quick look and all looks ok except for some minor decorating! My contract does not say the property needed decorating and there is no damage, only possible wear and tear you would expect from 18 months in a family home. She said she would arrange a time with LL so I could have an inspection with him. It has now been over a week and still no contact. Im pretty fed up as I want my money back. I have emailed this morning again, outlining my concerns and asked for my deposit to be returned into my bank account within 24 hours before I take further action to seek my money back through the small claims courts I have had a quick look on here and I can see that I ‘may’ be entitled to my rent back PLUS X 3, and all costs etc? Is this right? What is my next move? Looking for some help from you guys Any help would be very much appreciated Cheers all Richard