Letting Contract Dispute

[dodger010]

My Daughter Has Just Left Her Rented Property At The End Of Her 6 Month Contract The Problems We Have Are

 

1 She Only Gave The Ll 1 Week Notice Although There Is Nothing In The Contract To State How Much Notice She Should Give.

The Ll Is Asking For Another Month Rent As Notice

 

2 Although My Daughter Has And Is In Possesion Of A 6 Month Ast The Ll Is Saying That They Have A 12 Month Ast And They Have A Copy Of This (nither Is Signed By The Ll) At First My Daughter Was Given A 12 Month Contract But She Asked For It To Be Changed To 6 Months And This Was Done By The Letting Agent Signed By Them And By My Daughter. The Ll Is Saying She Will Take Her To Court For The Other 6 Months Rent Do They Have A Case Or Is It The Agent Who Is To Blame.

 

3 The Tenancy Deposit Scheme Certificate Of Tenancy Registration States 6 Months But When You Go On Line And Enter The Code On The Cert It States 12 Months Have We Been Setup:-?

PLEASE HELP AS SHE IS REALLY WORRIED THAT SHE WILL END UP WITH BAD CREDIT AS ONE OF THE REASONS SHE HAS LEFT IS TO GET A DEPOSIT TO BUY A HOUSE. MANY THANKS FOR YOUR HELP IN ADVANCE.

Edited January 7, 2009 by dodger010
TO SAY THANKS

[Planner]

Before I go on.... sort the capital letters out!!! it makes your post difficult to read.

 

If your daughter has a six month contract, then she has a six month contract end of storey. If the landlady is under the impression she has a 12 month contract, then that is something for her and her agent to discuss and sort out between them as there has obviously been a break down in communication between them at somepoint.

 

A weeks notice is plenty if your daughter left the peoperty on or before the last day of the 6 month fixed term. There is actually no requirement to give notice at the end of the fixed term, your daughter could have simply turned up at the landladys/agents address and handed the keys over without any notice! - let your landlady take you to court if she likes, you are in the right.

 

I suggest you now begin the claims process for your particular TDS scheme in order to get the deposit back if you havent already done so, the fact that it says online its protected for 12 months shouldnt be a problem as your landlady/agents have obviously made a mistake when entering the details.

 

Gaurd that 6 month AST you have like gold!! as it looks like you will have to prove your position either in court or to TDS at somepoint!

 

I suggest a polite but firm letter to the landlady, copying in the agents, stating the above (no requirement for notice and 6 month agreement - include a copy of it in your letter) and that you have requested the deposit be returned to you. In terms of rent tell her you look forward to discussing the matter in county court!

[dodger010]

Thanks Planner and sorry about the caps my fault, I hope your right and will be taking your advice and getting the letters off today to both the LL and LA. Just one point the 6 month ast and the 12 month the LL has have both been signed by my daughter but the one she asked for and was given was for 6 months just to make this clear as not sure if it will make any differance.

[Planner]

Thanks Planner and sorry about the caps my fault, I hope your right and will be taking your advice and getting the letters off today to both the LL and LA. Just one point the 6 month ast and the 12 month the LL has have both been signed by my daughter but the one she asked for and was given was for 6 months just to make this clear as not sure if it will make any differance.

 

Which is dated later? the 12 month or the 6 month?

 

If the 6 month was the one that was signed last, then I think you have a perfecltley reasonable argument that after signing the 12 month contract you changed your mind and they allowed a 6 month contract to be signed instead, before the tenancy started, that supersceeded the previous agreement.

 

If they had wanted to enforce the 12 month agreement, they could have done so, and should not waived that right by allowing a 6 month agreement to be signed. Again this is confusion between the landlady and her agents and is not your daughters fault.

[dodger010]

Hi both are stated the same date but the one she has is the one she asked for 6 months.

[Planner]

You mean they both start the same date or the dates next to the signatures are the same?

 

If its the later, then you are in a less strong position as the former landlady could argue that its in fact the 12 month contract that superscedes the 6 month contract.

 

If it ever comes to county court/tds arbutration then the court will just have to make a decision based on the balance of probabilities. If you have any written/emailed communication from the agents stating that the 6 months ast replaces the 12 months ast rather than vice-versa then that would strongly help your case.

 

Best of luck, and get applying to TDS straight away to have that depsoit returned!

[dodger010]

Thanks will do, they both start the same day and the dates next to the sigs are the same date guess we will just have to fight it out. What about the fact niether of the contracts are signed by the LL she says she gave the LA writen permission to sign on her behalf but although they have initialed each page and signed as witness to my daughters signature they have not signed either contract where it states landlords signature. Sorry to be a pain.

[Planner]

Thanks will do, they both start the same day and the dates next to the sigs are the same date guess we will just have to fight it out. What about the fact niether of the contracts are signed by the LL she says she gave the LA writen permission to sign on her behalf but although they have initialed each page and signed as witness to my daughters signature they have not signed either contract where it states landlords signature. Sorry to be a pain.

 

The lack of signature wont make any difference.

[dodger010]

Just to let you know i have been on to TDS and they say there records show it is a 6 month contract and it must be an admin error that it has been entered on the site as 12 months. Thanks for all your help will keep you informed as to how we are getting on.

[Planner]

Just to let you know i have been on to TDS and they say there records show it is a 6 month contract and it must be an admin error that it has been entered on the site as 12 months. Thanks for all your help will keep you informed as to how we are getting on.

 

See if you can get TDS to confirm the six month thing in writting, so you have some additional 'proof' that the 6 month ast should take precedent.

[help me kick his butt]

Sounds like its all in your favour from here on in. As Planner says, tell them you look forward to court, the judge is very likely to laugh them out of court. Metaphorically( yes I know its spelt wrong) speaking. x

[dodger010]

Thanks guys but guess what TDS are now saying that the registration was changed after the one was given to my daughter to a 12 month registration dont know if this is good or bad but they have refused to give us any more information.