Myself and a friend entered into an AST in 2008 with a private landlord where I was the lead tenant. Our deposit was placed with the DPS. Although we had a good relationship with the landlord throughout the tenancy, when we gave notice to quit in 2011 he seemed to take the matter personally and started being very standoffish with us. On our moving out date, the landlord did not attend the property. When we called his phone to find out where he was, it rang with a foreign dial tone and the call was rejected, so he wasn't even in the country and decided to ignore us. We ended up posting the keys back through his letter box and were never properly checked out. Since the landlord had essentially absconded we did a stat dec and sent it off to the DPS to get our deposit back and assumed it would follow. A couple of days before we would have had it, the landlord opposed the stat dec and would not consent to ADR. This left it in limbo and our only remedy was to take court action. We mulled it over at the time and in the end made the stupid decision not to pursue him and put it down to experience. Eventually we got over the matter and I'd not given it any thought for several years. Until today when I moved into a new property which also used DPS and when I checked my account I found two tenancies were shown, and was amazed to find our old deposit from 2008 is still there, now with the status 'suspended pending review'. What is the legal position on this deposit now? Neither us nor the landlord can take civil action against each other as more than 6 years has gone by, but the money is still held with the DPS, and it is our money. Any chance of getting this back after all these years? And if not, what will eventually happen to it?

I private rented from Oct 2014 to July 2015 & landlord got £243 of deposit after using Deposit Protection Service & adjudication. (Email sent to me Dec 2015) This so wrong, it is for gardening and when I moved in the landlord (couple) said Mr. Landlord was going to do one more mow and then after a week or two I was told a man was booked to come and cut the hedges. He never came round. On day I went to sign assured shorthold tenancy agreement the landlady seemed to have changed her mind about me even though they chose me out of people they chose to show the house. I said I was not happy about a clause in the agreement & she said that I could stop now and not go ahead. I was taking tenancy from this date and had given notice on previous tenancy. They did not give me a written inventory and took the tenancy agreement away so I had to ask for a copy later. There were a few things that happened that they handled in a non-professional manner and I gave notice as soon as I could. The amount they got from adjudicator was for gardening. It was very rainy leading up to me leaving also I was busy organising move. I did a first strim of the garden which is very large and had already cut some of the hedge before. When the landlords came there at end of tenancy I was strimming still doing a second go but had not finished. They would not let me stay to finish or come back to finish even though they said people were coming to look at the property (in 4-5 days). It was July and I mentioned the nesting birds I had seen. The landlords claimed to have both spent hours and hours totalling £243 cutting 2 hedges and doing grass. In effect I've paid them to do their own garden. The Deposit Protection Scheme wrote to me from 9 different email addresses! A lot of the time from their do_not_reply email so I was not sure which email to reply to them on. I found their website hard to see, written in light grey and small writing. I was not clear what was happening as the process went along and if they had received all my evidence which was done by email. Please can someone tell me who to appeal to. I have written to the DPS saying I want to complain and can they send me a copy of their complaint procedure and they have replied saying they will reply to complaint and if not resolved will send me full policy. Am I able to take landlord or DPS or both the a Small Claims Court? I used one years ago but don't know if they operate in a similar way now. What about the Financial Conduct Authority? An ombudsman? Thank you for reading.

My friend’s tenancy agreement ended at the end of June and she vacated the property, fulfilling all contractual obligations for professional cleaning and returning keys. The circa £800 deposit is held with the DPS and my friend has still not had any of it returned due to the landlord disputing £70. After my friend moved out the landlord claimed costs for sending 2 x letters @ £25. Unreasonably these letters were sent on consecutive days. One regarding rent being 3 days late (the first time rent was ever late and it was paid within that week). The second letter was because the landlord had tried to enter the property to show a new tenant, without permission, and the keys were in the other side of the locked door, which prevented her entering. The landlord also claims she needed to paint a coloured wall and was charging £20 for paint. The wall was this colour when the landlord purchased the property and painted by my friend with permission from the previous landlord. As background, the landlord purchased the property with my friend as a tenant last year and has been very difficult. My friend was a good tenant and left the property in excellent condition. However problems escalated towards the end of the agreement when the landlord began entering the property without permission and refusing to leave, culminating in my friend calling the police. Since this time the landlord has become increasingly hostile and made numerous threats to charge for various things which really have no standing. Due to this £70 dispute the landlord has refused to release any part of the undisputed deposit despite numerous requests over the last few weeks. The landlord refuses to enter into any dispute process using DPS and this is causing a lot of distress to my friend who is severely short of money and has a 1 year old daughter undergoing major surgery in the next couple of weeks. What options are there now for my friend to get her deposit back?

Hi all, this may be a long one. We've been in our rented property for nearly 3 years (since August 2011). We rent privately from landlords who used to live in the property and have never been landlords before renting this house. A few months since we moved in, problems with the house started - damp patches, due to the balcony mostly, which they promptly got "sorted". The house was then less than 10 years old and all of the houses on the small estate had similar problems with damp, due to shoddy building work. The damp problem was never resolved despite "builders" being sent by the insurance company to sort the problem. It was always botched. Last year we noticed rain pouring (yes, pouring) through our bedroom window, and as Winter came it became so cold that we had to have the heating on so much more! Landlords were informed of every little thing and contacted their insurance company (because the house was still under warranty). Builders came, bodged it and left, time after time. Fast forward to the beginning of this month and the landlords are sick of it all. They've decided to wash their hands of it and put the house up for sale. They issued a section 21 (and it IS valid). We've found somewhere else and are moving in on the first July, we're having the carpets cleaned at current property, gardens manicured, we've done all minor repairs (replaced broken loo seat, touched up paint on walls etc). Landlady has now asked for us to sand down and treat all the window frames and paint every room the exact colour it was when we moved in! (Peach, yellow, dark blue etc). Well, we spent over £1000 decorating this place last year in neutral colours and the damp problems completely wrecked all our hard work. We spent £150 to get someone to come and repair the shed roof even though that is not our responsibility. We also had to get a plumber to come and repair the loo which cost £40 and last year the heating packed in and we got someone to come and repair it costing us £90. We informed landlady o all of this and she did not accept responsibility. The oil fired boiler hasn't been serviced at all in the 3 years we've been here but I realise this isn't a legal requirement. However the last month or so the three of us (me, husband and son) have all been feeling really ill when we've been at home. But when we're not here we feel ok. I wonder if this is possible carbon monoxide leak?

Hi, I had a tenancy end in May, I had some disputes over my LL withholding a large proportion of my deposit (he was willing to only return £120 of £550) - the majority I believe was fair wear and tear over a 4 year tenancy. After asking for my DPS ID etc. to dispute the deductions, he made me aware my deposit wasn't protected. This is all after tenancy ended. Essentially he assumed it was OK to take away my right to dispute via the legal means (DPS) and bully me into accepting his totally unfair deposit return. I've sent a "Letter Before Action", to which he sent a letter containing a DPS ID, which was issued this month (June 2nd)! In essence he's trying to retrospectively fulfil his requirements as a LL after my tenancy has ended. I'm guessing I have a solid case for county court? Any insights / advice for disputes like this would be much appreciated!

Hi just some background infomraiton. I moved into my old property on 27th April 2012 and moved out on the 27th April 2013. The property was supplied as fully furnished (NO INVENTORY), £450 a month payable on the 7th. And £450 put down as a deposit. On the tenancy agreement it states she would put the deposit in a DPS scheme which she didnt. Ive complained about her on here before shes a little bit mad. (Read: coming round and 5am to put bins out and randomly walking into house so we had to keep doors locked at all times). So now the tenancy is over, she did an inspection on the 27th when I was there, and in front of 4 witnesses said everything was fine, everything was wonderfully clean and asked for my bank details to return deposit. This did not happen. I contacted her and asked her what was going on. She said she needed to make some deductions but didnt know how much yet because she hadnt finished doing all the work. When I pressed her she produced this list by email. Hi Danielle, I have not managed to clean the whole house yet because there is so much to do. The bathroom is fine. SMall bedroom / when I moved the bed there is oil on the carpet and also some a blue stain, which you did not mention. I have arranged to get the carpet cleaned 15 May and it shouldnt cost any more than 45pounds. I have asked for pictures but she has not replied as I rented a carpet cleaner and cleaned ALL the carpets The curtain rail also needs fixed to the wall. It was attached to wall when I left and has never fell off in the year I lived there why would it fall off now?? Front bedroom, I have had to remove the border, not sure what you have done but there are peices misssing all around it. All the wallpaper in the front bedroom is peeling / rotting because of rising damp which is visible on all walls. I advised her of this on regular basis through tenancy The curtain also needs to be fixed to the wall. Again, it was up when we left??? With Curtains!! And if you drive past the curtains have always been up! Hall / bottom step has a large oily patch and the small hall was not cleaned. Actuslly there are oil marks all around the house. Oil??? Again asked for pictures, not provided Lounge / is not too bad. I have has to paint the conservatory which has marks on the walls. Read: rising damp. all the marks are black mould. Kitchen I have not tackled yet, but the light needs repaired. Bathroom piping burst over winter and flooded kitchen, all the kitchen lights fell out of the ceiling and kitchen was nearly foot under water. She knew about this and had someone come and re-fit the broken lights. Dont see why I should pay The cooker and fridge need cleaned but I have not checked it yet the rest of it yet. My parents actually cleaned these for me, because I cant bend to well being heavily pregnant and they were spotless. Cleaner than when I moved in seeing as I had to buy new oven racks the old ones were so manky I'msorry it is taking me longer than usual, There was alot of wood left lyin ariound and in the shed which I have disposed of. Wood from when she had the fence replaced. "Christine do you want me to take that to the tip for you when I go tomorrow, nah its fine love" I think it will be a couple of weeks before I can assess the cost, hope you are feeling OK with the baby. I have an odd job man who will fix the curtain rails at a low cost but the light I will have to get an electrician. Seeing as she was being such an arse, I respectfully sent her a request for details of the DPS scheme, as well as Gas Safety Certs which I know she doesnt have. She has not responded. Just wondering what I should do now. Should I send the same again, in a letter with recorded delivery? And then issue small claims? How do I even go about doing this?

Any sound advice would be much appreciated. I rented a property from March 2010 until March 2012. LL failed to provide check in inventory and thus one was never signed by myself. AST states that an inventory should have been provided. LL failed to provide Prescribed Information until 11/04/2012 despite numerous requests from myself. LL did not add T&C's or Scheme Leaflet to the Prescribed Information and had dated and signed it 31st March 2010. I have kept original envelope that it was posted in, which is dated 7/04/2012 (after new laws came into force) LL was given every opportunity to provide this to me prior to this date but did not. Property was not in the best of conditions when I moved in, but I verbally agreed with the LL that I would arrange to decorate if possible and LL offered to pay for materials for 2 of the rooms. I have correspondence via email from myself to LL stating that I had bought materials and was planning to re-decorate by Xmas 2010 - LL responded to email with no problem at all. LL visited property to carry out a (court ordered) inspection 3 weeks before I moved out. His wife was present and neither pointed out anything they were unhappy with. I stayed downstairs the whole time so as not to be a distraction. LL emailed after visit stating a few 'minor safety issues' he had noticed yet no mention of any damage, anything he was unhappy with etc. After I had moved (on agreed date) out I put keys through letter box and emailed LL to inform him that his property was vacant. He asked me to attend a check out meeting, which I declined. I asked him to document everything in writing so that we both had a record of what had been said regarding the property. Very long story cut short - LL and I do not get on, he is very intimidating, has visited property unannounced a few times being sleazy in front of my 5 year old and as explained, I preferred that everything be documented in writing via post or email. LL emailed me over a month later saying I had trashed the property and was being held responsible for a full redecoration to the tune of £1700. After I had finished laughing, I asked for a full report on his findings at the property along with a summary of costs he was claiming for, evidence proving that I was infact responsible etc. He refused to provide any of this. I emailed him again on 21st May requesting information regarding the alleged damages etc and received no reply and no report. My deposit is held with the DPS and today I received an email stating LL has started a single claims process to claim my entire deposit of £750 for 'damages and cleaning'. I have to reply within 14 days. I haven't damaged his property at all, but neither of us can prove the condition at the start of the tenancy. Can anyone give me advice on this? Obviously I am going to appeal but has anyone had dealings with this before? I understood the single claims process to be solely for use when either both parties do not agree on the deposit being returned, or one cannot be contacted? Also because my LL has admitted to not provided the inventory or prescribed info, does that mean the DPS rules have been broken along with the law? Thank you in advance for any help!

Dear All I am in need of your advice/suggestion. I rented a property last year during April (2011) through a letting agent. It was a just an introductory type of letting i.e. all the initial paper work was done by the letting agents and than I was told that all the dealings are going to be direct with the landlord. Everything was fine until this year when he asked me to vacate the property as he wanted to sell the house. I was given 2 months notice. We found a house and left the property in a good condition. There were some marks on the kitchen wall which I said was my mistake and I am willing to pay for it and also there was a snag on a carpet due to carpet cleaning machine which I am sure can be fixed but I said I wont mind paying. I waited for more than one month to hear any thing back from him, during which I did txt him several time to let me know. And than after a month I send him a letter that if he is not going to reply, I am taking the matter to court. it worked and he replied the very next day. He said my money was not paid into the deposit protection scheme by the letting agent due to some administration error and the money is locked in the deposit scheme now (i.e. more than a month after I left the property). It was landlords responsibility to deposit the money into DPS scheme, but he never got the money from the letting agents. He also thinks that I owe him 750 pounds ( I paid 600 pounds deposit). He found some dust on the floor, there are few stains on the carpet ( I got proof that those stains were before I started my tenancy). Also, there was an old mattress in the house which was never used (it is more like 5 year old mattress) and he found a stain on it and wants to charge 260 pounds for it! I have replied him back saying what I agree with and what I dont agree with. He is not replying to me any more. Could any one please tell me where I stand in this case? Initially I dint wanted to take the matter to court, but now I am going to fight for my money and not going to let him any extra penny. Sorry for a wordy email, but I really need your valuable advice. Thank you

Firstly, Im a full-time Master student who currently in a dissertation period. The whole thing is about the tenancy I singed with a letting agent is coming to an end by 25th August 2012. I intended to have a rolling contract after the Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement with a 12 month fixed term. But I havent receive any information from the agency or the landlord so I emailed them first on 6th July, and the agency reply me on 9th July that I can't stay after the contract ends because the landlord decided to rent it to someone else. I was asking them why I'm the last person to know and they even didnt contact me before they re-marketing the flat on Rightmove.com on 5th July 2012. I emailed them about my difficult situation that I'm doing the dissertation and its almost impossible for me to find a new 5month contract flat and arrange a move before the dissertation deadline next month. I dont know if they actually inform that to the landlord. And My visa is running out on the end of Jan 2013 which means If I move out on 25th August 2012 I might not be able to find a new flat which allow 5 month contract. And as I feel intense about the short notice to move out and I emailed them to have a explanation and possibly arrange something to sort out the situation. They explained that they did attempt to call me but cannot contact me at the beginning of July. Firstly, I usually use email to contact them with same email address which written in the information form. Secondly, I checked my phone record, there isn't any missed call or voice mail from the number they said they were calling from. I asked them to provide a phone record but they ignored my request. I started to thinking aren't they gunna say nothing to me if I didnt email them first. Because normally the landlord or agent will contact me about the rolling contract or any change as my previous experience. Then I found the information about the landlord should provide the Section 21 Notice of Housing Act 1988 with a minimum 2 month time. Clearly I didnt not get any Notice around 25th June that 2month prior to the contract ends. Therefore I emailed them again and ask why they didnt sent me the Notice in writing, they said they gaven the Notice to me at the beginning of the tenancy as a separate documents already and send me the scan copy of the Notice, but I never ever seen the Notice till now. There is no serve date of the Notice on that Notice, and I can prove that I didnt get that Notice at the beginning or at any time but now with prove. I found out there is a mistake on the contract after i signed the contract. The post code of the property address was wrong on the contract and I took it back to the agency, they just change the postcode on the contract by pen without any other action. I remember I was double asking them if it is alright for a valid contract with a wrong post code and change it like that, they said it is fine. But clearly the the scan copy of the Notice they sent me is with the wrong post code, which proved that if I get that Notice with the contract or at any time I would go and let them change it because as a law student myself I feel it is not right to have a wrong post code on a legally binding document. They insist that they serve me the Notice as a separate documents, so I checked again the contract, there isn't a mention of the Notice will be served at the beginning of the tenancy. And it also said there is a inventory list attached to the contract but I didnt receive any but the tenancy agreement itself. I'm scared they are going to lie about that as well then I wont get my 900 pound deposit back. Regardless all these, when I am trying to contact them about the issues about the Notice and how difficult my situation is, I also require a repair of the toilet as soon as possible , because the toilet with in-wall water tank stopping flashing which is a major problem for normal people. I mentioned at least 3 times to ask them send someone to fix the toilet in the email today but they didnt even say a word about it and just keep repeat i have to move out by the end of the contract date and that is the end of the issue. So I proposed that I move out this month (one month earlier) and they should refund me one month rent which is 600 pound that i've already paid. Then I got chance to rent a 6month contract flat. But like every email they replied is all about I have to move out and I cant have any right as tenant. I'm desparte to seek some legal help and I dont want to lost 600 pound rent + deposit 900 for being rip off by the liar agency and they didnt even admit their fault. :mad2:

Hi everyone, I am looking for some guidance on an issue we may have upcoming and would like to go into the situation prepared. We moved into a property in Dec 2009 via a letting agent on a assured shorthold tenancy for 6 months, the deposit was protected in a DPS via the letting agent and we received timely confirmation of this. Prior to the 6 month review, we were asked by the letting agent to release the deposit we provided the letting agent with the letters we had from the DPS and the letting agent used this to release the deposit, their reason for this is that the landlord wanted to store the deposit in his own DPS instead. We then signed a new AST for 6 months, and after that we have been on a statutory periodic tenancy. A year ago we got a cat, as we were told the landlord accepted small pets, although when we told the letting agent they wanted an extra £200 adding to the deposit, we explained we were unwilling to do this unless they were able to prove that our deposit was within a DPS , they tried to contact the landlord but a few days later we were told via the letting agent that they couldn't get the proof from the landlord, and not for us to worry because if they hadn't put it into a DPS we would get 3x the amount, but in any case they said they would not pursue us for the extra £200 for the cat. What I'm wondering is if the deposit is not in a scheme (as we signed a new AST AFTER the deposit had been renewed) can the landlord use the initial dps letter to prove it was in such a scheme? We're less concerned about the 3x the deposit but if the deposit is not in a scheme we do not want any undue hassle getting our deposit back. Thank you in advance for all your advice.

My landlord/letting agent has said they would like all my my deposit as the house was not sufficiently cleaned. I would like to dispute this. My deposit is registered with the DPS. The problem is reading through the contract, it states that if the letting agent is required to submit information to the ADR, I would be required to pay £100 plus VAT.It also states that if there is no deposit left, I would have to pay for it out of my own money. Is this legal?

Hello, I have two questions for you, if I may: 1. My landlord has served me with notice requiring possession of the property at the end of our fixed term AST, however a. this has been sent via e-mail and b. it does not mentioned Section 21. Is this a valid notice? 2. My landlord did not protect my deposit within 14 days of receipt, but has since (over a year after it was paid). Where would I stand if I wanted to dispute this? I've tried to keep it succinct, but if you need further information please do not hesitate to ask. Otherwise, thank you in advance for your advice. Simon

Hi all, I am new to this website and apologise if I am posting a thread which is already available or posting it in wrong place. I rented a one bedroom furnished property on Assured Shorthold Tenancy which was initially for 6months and then was converted on monthly roll on basis. In total I was in the property for 2years and due to work I had to move out of the property after giving 1months notice. I rented the property through a letting agent who was also responsible for managing that property. When I moved into the property the agency provided me with a check in inventory (prepared by the agency itself) which looks more biased, and I then made a copy of that inventory and highlighted the condition of the items which I think wasn't right in accordance to the inventory prepared by the agency and emailed them the inventory with my notes on it. The agency never replied me back about my notes on the inventory but decided to do some work on the property like carpet cleaning which I had highlighted in the check in inventory. I left the property on 26th March after giving one months notice, at the time I left the property the agent came and did an exit inventory along with me and we check the items one by one together. He said the property was in good condition apart from few minor issues like I had accidently broken a flower vase whilst cleaning the property,dust behind the sofa part of the wall above sink had some minor stains etc. After couple of days moving out from the property I rang the agency and asked him the status on my deposit and how much they are planning to deduct from my deposits for the items which I agreed at the exit inventory stage. He said he is looking in to it and will email me the details with tradesmen costs/estimates. On 12th April, he sent me another exit inventory which was totally different than the one I signed when I left the property. In this inventory he stated that the worktop had some knife marks therefore the whole work top needs to be replaced and then also mentioned that the bathroom tub had a patch mark (which was always there) and needs whole bath tub replacing plus some other minor issues and said the estimates and tradesmen costs will follow on soon. Immediately I replied to that email with explanation on why I do not agree to those items and also wrote in that email items which I agree and asked him to provide the estimate/ breadown of the cost. The agent replied to my email on 19th April stating “Hi, We have received your email regarding the deposit, I am speaking with DPS, the landlord and the tradesmen (quotes) I will reply to your email after the above, and no later than mid afternoon Monday 23 April 2012”. I did not get any reply from the agency on the 23rd no emails, no calls nothing. Then I decided to call him on 24th to check why they did not send me any information. The agent said he is speaking to the landlord and he will get back to me as soon as possible. On 26th April I called him again and said I need to know what’s happening with my deposit, he said landlord is taking time to come back and asked me to email him the items which I agree to pay and he will take it from there on. I sent him an email immediately on 26th listing all the items which i agree to pay for, this is what I emailed to the agent “Further to our recent telephone conversation please find below the items which I agree to pay, with estimated cost infront of each item included. 1) Wall above the kitchen sink had some minor stains, agree that part to be re-painted (£50 incl. VAT). 2) Dust behind sofa (only) in lounge. which I forgot to vaccum clean it at time of leaving the property (£10 incl. VAT). 3) 1 flower vase broken (£20 incl. VAT). 4) Top drawer of the freezer has slightly broken near the handle (£20 incl. VAT). 5) Minor mould on the bath tub grouting only (£10 incl. VAT). In total I agree to pay £110 (incl VAT) towards repair/replacement of the above items. The above rates are generally more than the average market prices. I paid a deposit of £615 and if you deduct £110 as per above then remaining money would be £505. I would be grateful if you could arrange to release the remaining amount of £505 of my deposit within 7days from today” The agent did not reply to my email at all, on 8th May I decided to send him an email threatening to take court action if my deposit is not returned, and called him back yesterday to check whether he received the email or not. He said the landlord has incurred more cost and asked me to take the case with DPS dispute resolution team and he also said that he will send me the breadown of the expenditure which has not sent to me yet. I have never come across any agency like this before, now I dont know what to do and would be grateful if somebody in this forum could help me with my case as I have never been to DPS or court in my life and have no idea on whether what I did till date would favour me or not. I would be grateful if anybody in this forum can help me and suggest what should I do next, I have the copy of the check in inventory which I wrote my notes on but it does not have the agents signature on it. I forgot to take photographs when I left the property because I thought we agreed to what needs to be replaced at the time when the agent did the exit inventory. Your help would be much appreciated Thanks

Hopefully someone may be able to help on this one: After leaving my last rented property our landlord refused to pay back our deposit and it had not been protected in a protection scheme. we lodged a small claim on a N1 form to the county court, which was checked at the court when we originally lodged it. The claim was under the s214 housing act 2004 for and ordered that the defendant repays the deposit and an order to pay 3 times the amount of the original deposit. we have recieved back a defence letter stating that the claim should have been entered on a N208 form and the case should be thrown out by the judge. i have a few questions: 1. can the judge throw it out due to this? 2. if yes can we submit the correct form to this case before it is thrown out? 3. if the case is thrown out can the judge order the DPS to release the frozen deposit or can we revert to the DPS to get the remainder of our deposit back? any help would be muchly appreciated Thanks

Hi, It is difficult to write the whole incident but I will write to the point and any kind of help and input will really be appreciated. My 2 bedroom flat was flooded with sewage water on 2nd Jan, 2011 and 2 rooms were fully flooded and cleaners and insurance company declared it uninhabitable (though living room was not flooded as I was there and water did not enter in living room), 4 flats in same floor were flooded, so it was definitely not LL fault or my - tenant fault, this was caused by community living in that building which has 70 flats, so can not blame anybody in this case. I lived with my friends for initial 2 days and then moved to a guest house and payment was made by my landlord’s insurance but only for around 3 weeks. (I paid for initial 2 days but I got that back from my LL insurance) Flat was not fixed during this time and my landlord then wanted me to end the contract (because it may take several weeks before flat will be fixed), I had no place to go and all my stuff was still in the flat, During this time I also started looking for new accommodation as well as some other cheaper alternative accommodation and found one but that was not available till 12th Feb, 2011. On 14th Jan I gave him notice of 4 weeks, told him that tenancy will end on 14th feb as 4 weeks of notice was required. I used to pay rent on 20th of every month, and before 20th Jan I came to know that my landlord or his insurance company is not ready to accommodate me anywhere, I called my LL and told him that I am not paying rent because 1) you or your insurance company is not providing me an alternate accommodation 2) There is a clause in my tenancy agreement - (4.2) the Landlord will return to the Tenant any rent payable for any period during which the Property may have been rendered uninhabitable by fire or any other risk which the Landlord has insured on 25th of Jan I vacated guest house and went to my friend's place, I needed accommodation for another 3 weeks as new house that I found was not available before 12 th Feb, 2011. After lot of discussion with my spouse we decided to go back to same old flat and started living in living room (rest of 2 bedrooms were uninhabitable), we are a couple and 2 children (4.5 years and 8 months) as we found it extremely difficult to live anywhere else because of access to kitchen and kids were not adjusting well. Before moving back I informed my LL as well as his insurance well in advance that please please arrange some alternative accommodation or else I may move back. I thought of moving to a hotel but by that time I already spent good amount money for initial accommodation, packing , moving , taking time off from work etc that I did not want more financial exposure. There are two problems here – 1. My landlord expects me to pay full rent for last 3 weeks, though I was not able to make full use of property, moreover I moved to flat because I did not have any other option left. Agency claims that insurance was ready to accommodate me till 12th of Feb but that was not true as I have emails communication from them, basically either agency is lying or LL misguided him, I have written proof of it in form of emails, which I provided to agency and he kind of agreed on phone that LL should pay me all deposit back in such case. 2. My landlord/agency never protected my deposit till 4 months after I paid it to agency, who then paid it to landlord. I chased them after 4 months and they said they will do it but I never got nay kind of communication from them and I checked with all deposit schemes and it is not protected anywhere. Agency is not ready to help me; they initially said I should get back my deposit in full and now asking me to speak to landlord directly. Please suggest, is it worth going to court, if yes are they two separate issues? My tenancy has already ended on 14th feb, LL has not paid me deposit back as we have not been able to agree to how much he should return, I even offered him to keep i/3 of rent just to close this matter but he wants to take full rent. I did not mention other problems like issues in contacting LL etc and no reply from him as they can not be proved in court. I also visited CAB today and lawyer suggested me to file a court case for not protecting deposit. Thanks in advance

I'm renting a room under an Assured Shorthold Tennancy from a non-resident landlord. I've contacted all three deposit protection schemes and verified that my deposit is not protected and my landlord seems totally unwilling to place the money into a scheme so I want to take him to court. I'm pretty sure that my case is rock solid but would like to know whether I can start paying my rent into an escrow account as my landlord is being pursued by bailiffs and i think it's highly unlikely that I will ever get my deposit / court fees etc back if I don't. I'm also a little hazy as to what an escrow is and whether it's the right instrument in this case. Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks.