A few questions regarding Landlords & their obligations

[thecookiemonster]

1.Do Landlords have to put the tenant's deposit into a Deposit Protection Scheme? I paid a deposit of over £600 and was never informed that it would be protected in one of these schemes.

 

2.When i moved in i was never given a copy of the Gas Safety Certificate and i have lived here almost a year now and no checks have been done.

 

3.Can a landlord keep any of my deposit due to unpaid bills or if there is an outstanding amount on a bill? Bearing in mind that the bills are in my name and when a new tenant moves in they will get their own bills so they would not take on any money i owed.

 

Thank you.

[thecookiemonster]

Please could anyone advise?

 

The reason i ask is because:-

 

1.I have never been notified by my Landlord that my deposit was put into a Deposit Protection Scheme and i have been living here for over 9 months now and i have an assured shorthold tenancy.

 

2.As above.

 

3.As above.

[45002]

Number 1.i don't know

 

Number 2. A LL must be able to show you copy of the Gas Safety Certificate and all checks on gas appliances has to be done once a year

 

Number 3. have a read of this http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/residential-commercial-lettings/190528-withholding-bond-untill-gas.html

 

It's looks like a LL cannot with hold deposit due to unpaid bill

[lawdoctor]

45002 Is right your landlord cannot withold your bond untill your bills that are in your name are paid. After all you have a legal right to disspute any account in your name, retaining the deposit could and might have the affect of denying you that legal and contractual right.

 

Should the tenancy agreement state outherwise that term would be unfair and as such invalid. OFT information on unfair terms can be found on the OFT website. The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999 should also be of some help!

 

The deposit did need statutory deposit protection.

 

Gas safety certificate's must by law be retained for a min of "2 YEARS"

 

Lawdoctor

[thecookiemonster]

45002 Is right your landlord cannot withold your bond untill your bills that are in your name are paid. After all you have a legal right to disspute any account in your name, retaining the deposit could and might have the affect of denying you that legal and contractual right.

 

Should the tenancy agreement state outherwise that term would be unfair and as such invalid. OFT information on unfair terms can be found on the OFT website. The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999 should also be of some help!

 

The deposit did need statutory deposit protection.

 

Gas safety certificate's must by law be retained for a min of "2 YEARS"

 

Lawdoctor

 

Thank you for your reply.

 

It does state in my Tenancy Agreement that if any bills are unpaid then that amount will be taken out of my deposit.

 

As far as the deposit is concerned i was never notified that it was put in or going to be put into a deposit protection scheme.

 

I was also never given a Gas Safety Certificate when i moved in and i have lived here nearly a year now.

[thecookiemonster]

So where do i stand on the above? And what should i do? Thanks.

[thecookiemonster]

Come on someone i need to know a.s.a.p.

[Dipply75]

What kind of tenancy agreement do you have?

 

Check out this thread ref the tenancy deposit....you could try trading standards about that term in your contract (taking the bills out of your deposit) but be sure to tell them you think it is an unfair term (my friend did the same and trading standards didn't even consider the Unfair Terms Regs, we had to tell them to do it!)

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/residential-commercial-lettings/117572-unfair-deposit-deductions.html

[thecookiemonster]

What kind of tenancy agreement do you have?

 

Check out this thread ref the tenancy deposit....you could try trading standards about that term in your contract (taking the bills out of your deposit) but be sure to tell them you think it is an unfair term (my friend did the same and trading standards didn't even consider the Unfair Terms Regs, we had to tell them to do it!)

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/residential-commercial-lettings/117572-unfair-deposit-deductions.html

 

I have an Assured Shorthold Tenancy.

[thecookiemonster]

Should i ask my Landlord for my deposit back now if it has not been protected or should i take legal action? Also what would be the best thing to say with regards to the Gas Safety Certificate? And the term in the tenancy about unpaid bills being taken out of the deposit?

[Dipply75]

Well, firstly I would submit a complaint to the Health & Safety Exec about the Gas safety certificate...or lack of.

 

I would get straight on to Trading Standards about that term in your agreement about witholding deposit for bills.....they should get onto the landlord about it.

 

I would suggest a recorded delivery letter to the landlord requesting details of the scheme your deposit was put into (can anyone else advise on this?) and if they ignore you/admit there's not a scheme then its either trading standards again (long route and sometimes not great help) or see about court action.

 

You are entitled to ask for compensation - up to 3 times the deposit.

 

Even just the serious threat of all that might make your landlord a bit more honest!

[Dipply75]

HSE ref the gas safety certificate...including a template letter:

 

Gas safety FAQs - tenants

[Dipply75]

Actually, now that I think about it...I have wondered this before.

 

You ask about an outstanding bill when leaving....do you HAVE to close the gas/elec account when you leave or can you not just use their home moving service? That way your landlord canot be left with an outstanding bill and you have more time to pay instead of a lump sum final bill?

 

Am I barking up the wrong tree so to speak?

 

Anyway, hope I helped a bit

[Dotty50]

Hi

 

this link should answer your deposit question.

 

Tenancy Deposit : Directgov

[Guest Amberloz]

1) Yes your landlord has to protect your deposit within 14 days. The landlord then has to inform you of what deposit scheme that it is in. I would phone up all three schemes to find out if he has protected it.

 

2) I would write to the landlord giving him 7 days to get the gas safe cert

 

3) Some landlords and agents do say that they want copies of the final bills but that is up to you. Is it in your agreement.

 

4) Is your tenancy a 6 months or 12 months. as you cannot just ask the landlord for the deposit back as you would of had to leave the property before this can be released.

Edited June 15, 2010 by Amberloz

[thecookiemonster]

1) Yes your landlord has to protect your deposit within 14 days. The landlord then has to inform you of what deposit scheme that it is in. I would phone up all three schemes to find out if he has protected it.

 

2) I would write to the landlord giving him 7 days to get the gas safe cert

 

3) Some landlords and agents do say that they want copies of the final bills but that is up to you. Is it in your agreement.

 

4) Is your tenancy a 6 months or 12 months. as you cannot just ask the landlord for the deposit back as you would of had to leave the property before this can be released.

 

1.I will phone up all 3 schemes, If it is not protected what would be my best course of action?

 

2.I will do that regarding the Gas Certificate, If it's not provided within 7 days what should i do?

 

3.Yes it's in my agreement but someone above said it's an unfair term and the landlord is not allowed to do this.

 

4.My tenancy is an Assured Shorthold Tenancy, It was a 6 month tenancy but after that time it just carries on.

[Guest Amberloz]

Do you want to stay at that property or have you found another one?

 

1) If you want to stay then i would inform the landlord that they must protect the deposit otherwise you will sue for 3xdeposit. If you dont want to stay then i would sue for 3xdeposit. But that is up to you.

 

2) If he doesnt do the gas safe cert write to him and inform him that you are going to contact the HSE as it is a criminal offence and the HSE can issue a formal caution. The landlord must carry out the gas safety cert every year and give the tenant a copy, they must also inform you when they are coming to the property to carry this out. I always write to my tenants and ask them to contact our plumber when it is the best time for them even if it is a saturday!

 

3) It is unfair terms but if it helps you get the deposit back quicker then it might be worth it, but this is up to you and the landlord cannot force you to do it. I would never do this as it isnt very fair on the tenant as most final bills get posted out to the new address.

 

Hope that helps?

[thecookiemonster]

I would like to move but as i can't i have to stay here for the time being.

 

How long should i give the landlord to protect my deposit?

 

Also how long should i give the landlord to produce the Gas Certificate?

 

Should i challenge my landlord regarding what it says in my tenancy about bills being taken out of the deposit?

 

Also i have found something out, The shop below my flat is being rented out £140 per month cheaper than my flat, Bearing in mind that they are a business and can easily afford to pay that amount and i'm struggling to pay my rent and have asked for a rent reduction which was refused and even the Council have said that the rent on my property is high, Very shortly i might start getting into rent arrears because my housing benefit only covers so much of my rent, I have to fork out over £110 per month out of my benefits and to be honest i can no longer afford it.

[Guest Amberloz]

I would give your landlord 7 days to protect the deposit and to issue you will all the paperwork.

 

Again I would give your landlord 7 days to either produce a Gas Safe cert to to get a new one done.

 

Its up to you about the bills but if your not going to move yet then i wouldnt worry about it. You can always talk to whoever the deposit is protected with and find out what they think is the best thing to do.

 

You can speak to your council and get the rent assissment team to come out and look at your flat and see what they think the rent should be, the landlord has to apply any changes, but it could go either way it could get your rent down or it could put it up.

 

Have you spoken to the HB and said that you are unable to afford the property and see if you can get any more money?

[thecookiemonster]

Thank you

 

I will email my landlord and give them 7 days to protect my deposit and to produce the Gas Safety Certificate.

 

Also getting a Rent Assessment is a very good idea which could help me a lot, The Council have said that the rent is high so i think it could go in my favour.

 

However as i am demanding the deposit be protected and also a Gas Safety Certificate to be produced within 7 days and i will inform the landlord that i shall be getting a rent assessment for the property they might decide to evict me?

[Guest Amberloz]

I would inform him but even if he does evict you he will still need a court order to get you removed.

 

Good Luck and let us know how you get on.