Deposit not protected

[marchstvn]

hi guys , i'm after a little advice here (lol what else ?)

 

i will give you a bit of background as well , please excuse me if i ramble on a bit

 

we were given notice to move from our previous house and told we needed to be out by april 20th , we found another place from a private landlady and agreed to take it on at £750 a month . we paid the deposit on the 10th april with the first months rent in advance totalling £1500 from our bank account by bank transfer , and moved in on the 14th april .

 

the landlady then informed us the rental payment would be from the 6th of the month , no problem it's just a few days . and then we received the tenancy stating we moved in from 6th april , we didn't think nothing of it and signed and sent it back . she lives in ireland .

 

it is now the 17th may and we havent received any details about our deposit being protected , and can find no details on the websites , what should we do about this ? should we just say nothing and wait until the time comes for us to move and then bring it up ? or do it now ?

 

also , the waste pipe from the upstairs bathroom is leaking and raw sewage is running down the pipe and leaking into the back garden , and has been since we moved in , we didn't notice it until the toilet was used and 1 of us happened to be in the garden at the same time .

she sent the plumber round and he said he told her to get it fixed 18 months ago and couldn't believe she hasn't had it done , the plumber then told my mrs that it was a health and safety issue and she went a bit mental , her friends have been telling her about c-diff etc etc and she isn't happy , the landlady has emailed me saying its too expensive for her to get done right away and that we will have to wait , i took pictures and sent them to her and she emailed me again today 17th may saying i would have to wait a few weeks .....

 

the back garden still contains a broken down conservatory , just leaning up against the wall , over 10 black bags , a king size double bed and the shed is full of old paint tins and various rubbish ,there are piles of wood with nails in them at the side of the garden , there is also a drill at the bottom of the garden in a box with the various bits and she has told me to leave it , there are piles of bricks at the bottom of the garden as well , the grass is overgrown but we cant mow it due to the rubbish .

luckily my kids are old enough and intelligent enough not to go near any of it , but we are trying for a baby and the mrs is getting very very stressed .

 

we have informed the landlady about this several times , via email , text and phone calls , all we get is "its too expensive" do it yourself ....

 

any help or advice would be very much appreciated

 

thanks all

[mariner51]

I think this case is one for your local Council private rented housing officer / environmental health dept.

 

The T cannot legally commence until you have paid 1st month rent and received the keys IMO but unsure of N.I. or Ireland law.

[raydetinu]

M51 have you got the right post? NI rent etc.?

 

Anyway as far as the drains are concerened, you do need to contact EH at the local council to get it looked at and they will contact LL.

As for Deposit protection just remind LL that it has to be protected and yourselves notified ( LL has 30 days from start of tenancy to do this ).

As for other stuff, did you agree with LL at start that the rubbish would be removed by her? if not then you accepted the situation.

[marchstvn]

yes the landlord told us someone was coming to get the rubbish , and that a friend of hers was having the conservatory , the king size bed was left in the house and she asked us to put it out the back so someone could come and collect it

 

the plumber she uses has told us it will cost £450 to have the pipes replaced , she has said no and asked him if he can seal , he has refused to seal it as he says its not worth doing as the same problem will appear again very soon

[raydetinu]

As Said before, if it is a health hazard contact the council.

If it was agreed that the rubbish etc. would be removed then you need to write/email to confirm and agree a date when it will be done or you will do and charge LL? Acummulated rubbish can also be a health hazard/danger.

[marchstvn]

thanks for the replies , the council are coming to visit the property in 1 week , and they are writing to the landlady

 

they have also told me i can refuse to pay the rent as the deposit is not protected , and i write to her to tell her why , is this true ? i thought rent had to be paid ?

[raydetinu]

You must pay the rent, unless you want to be taken to court or evicted!

you can take LL to court for not protecting the rent and may well get compensation for that.

[marchstvn]

ye thats what i thought , i will double check this with the council as it may have been a wording error . i don't know if i will take the landlord to court as then she can give us notice , i may just let her keep the deposit in her handbag and when she comes to wanting the house back just laugh at her ???

 

i also found out today that the house is up for sale , and have been asked to get keys cut and drop them into the agents . mrs has gone a bit mental and is going to refuse to give them keys and refuse entry to anyone .

[raydetinu]

If deposit not protected then she cannot issue a section 21 notice for possession as it will be invalid.

[marchstvn]

hey all i need some help , after speaking to the council and lawyers that know nothing about the new legislation we are just so confused

 

We viewed a property and paid the rent and deposit in advance on 10th april 2012 , got the keys on the 14th and moved in on the 19th , the tenancy was dated from the 6th , i thought nothing of it as we were asked to pay the rent on the 6th of the following month .

 

we found out about 2 weeks ago that the deposit was not secured , and we requested it be returned to us , the landlord has point blank refused to do this , and is saying they will secure it , as of today 07/06/2012 she has still not secured the deposit , even though she refused to return the deposit because she is securing it .

 

we need to know exactly what action we can take , i know there was new legislation brought in on the 6th apr 2012 , but after speaking to some lawyer that didn't even know the legislation had been changed , i am very confused , and our local council gives us different answers depending on who we speak to .

 

so please can someone advise us what action we are able to take ?

 

thank you

[freakyleaky]

Have a look at this while you're waiting for more replies.http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/paying_for_a_home/tenancy_deposits?gclid=CIaMpISNvLACFUYntAodzUnqpw

It may just give you the answers you need.

[ims21]

Two threads on the same subject merged

 

Please keep to one thread for this issue

 

[marchstvn]

ah sorry about that , thank you

 

thanks for the reply freakleaky , i will look at that now

[Steve__M]

As the Shelter thread says it sounds like you can sue LL to force her to protect the deposit and get an additional "fine" of between 1 and 3 times the deposit (Judge decides how much).

 

Tell your lawyers to read the Localism bill and the relevant Commencement Act (the Act that says when and how the new tenancy deposit rules would come into force).

 

You still have to pay rent even if deposit is unprotected. Rent *can* be withheld only if you don't have a proper address for your LL to where you could issue a court claim (normally either LL home address or agent's address). Not sure what issues there are for suing someone in Northern Ireland from England or Wales.

[marchstvn]

Thanks Steve , that helps clear some things up I will speak to the lawyer again , they were trying to find the relevant info on the computer while I spoke to them , they did say we could possibly be forced to have the hearing in NI as that's where the landlord lives .

 

Shouldn't we have an address in England for the landlord ? Or is the NI address ok ?

[Steve__M]

"Shouldn't we have an address in England for the landlord ? Or is the NI address ok ?"

 

Section 48 of the LL and Tenant Act says the address must be in England/Wales:

 

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1987/31/part/VI

 

So it appears you may be able to withhold rent! Check your contract though as there may be a valid address listed somewhere.

[marchstvn]

wow ok , thanks again steve

 

i have just checked the tenancy and it does state on there that she must provide an address in england or wales , her address is a NI address and her witness also lives in NI

 

the tenancy is from http://www.lawpack.co.uk and has ID number F402 in the top right

Edited June 7, 2012 by marchstvn

[marchstvn]

just a quick update , i have spoken to a residential law solicitor , she said that

 

Section 48 of the LL and Tenant Act says the address must be in England/Wales:

 

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1987/31/part/VI

 

doesn't apply to assured shorthold tenancy only leasehold , so if i bought a leasehold flat it would apply then but not in this case cos of AST

[mariner51]

Please confirm the property you are renting is in Eng or Wales.

[marchstvn]

Yes the property I am renting is in England

[mariner51]

The only Eng/Wales address required is that specified in seperate clause for service of Notices on LL (usually Agent's address).

You have not bought the property but are renting (leasing) it for a finite period. It would be unusual if your tenancy agreement was other than an AST. LL&T Act will therefore apply & Ireland=based LL must adhere to UK (England) Law. Your option would be to sue for return of deposit now, or wait until end of T.

If deposit is returned, LL can still sue you for T attributable damage at end of T. No deposit means T does not have any protection from s21 being served at any time.

[freakyleaky]

If you have an AST then your LL MUST protect your deposit.

 

 

Do you have an assured shorthold tenancy?

Yes

 

Question 2

When did you pay your deposit?

 

On or after 6th April 2007

 

Result

 

Your landlord must protect your deposit in a Government-backed scheme.

 

Visit our page on tenancy deposit protection schemes for more information about how they work, what to do if your landlord refuses to use the scheme and what happens if there's a dispute at the end of your tenancy.

[marchstvn]

Thank you everyone

[marchstvn]

sorry to bump this thread guys

 

i had an email today from the landlord , that she has secured the deposit even though we requested it was returned as we have been looking for somewhere as she requested us to do and is willing to let us go early ( we have this in writing )

 

what can i do now ? we asked for the deposit to be returned and she blatantly refused

[mariner51]

She has protected your deposit (allegedly) so have you checked with the 3 schemes. Once a deposit is protected it should not be released until T has ended. No s21 can be served by LL until she has provided you with the reqd info, but has neatly side-stepped that by allowing you to leave early. If deposit is not returned at end of T after agreed deductions, you will have to sue for it's return under current Localism Act provisions.