hold deposit for 2 weeks to make sure no bills come?

[fletcherGTO]

can the landlord hold the deposit for 2 weeks to make sure no bills come to the house??

[Planner]

If the bills are in the tenants name, it should be no concern of the landlord if they are paid or not. Therefore deposit should not be witheld for this reason.

 

Should the deposit be protected in one of the TDS schemes?

[fletcherGTO]

all bills are in our own names, and transfered to new address,

bond is in a DPS Scheme, but he said hes not applying for it for 2 weeks, once he knows theres no outstanding bills.... but like you say, any bills are in our name, so dosent really concern him?

[Steve__M]

Many contracts require tenant to have settled utility bills. In such a case, LL may be entitled to delay if required to ensure all is in order, I suppose (though in this case he ought to be able to check things by phoning).

 

While I see this is not normally the LL concern, there are occasions when the failure to settle bills can cause havoc for the landlord if for some reason utility company refuses to believe the tenant is responsible, or in my case when tenants left me with a debt of £800 on a key meter. Or LL may take a moral position against tenants who are attempting to do a runner.

 

Deposit delays can act as leverage.