Tennant sublet room to me unbeknownst to landlord, and won't return deposit

[bmflex]

Hi all,

 

My friend is in rather a awful fix. I helped her move into a new room within a houseshare last week, and when I arrived the room, and indeed the entire house was filthy. Ashtrays everywhere, stank of stale smoke and the room itself was in a state. Distressed, she broke down into tears and clearly I decided I would put her up at mine and help her find something else. The apartment was clean during her viewing, and nothing like the state it was in when we arrived.

 

Prior to the move in, she paid £500 to secure the room. The room was advertised via an estate agency. The room itself was let by someone who is already a tenant of the property (therefore a sublet) without the consent of the landlord. No agreement was at any point signed. The landlord is apparently furious she has tried to do this and is taking her to court for unpaid rent already. The landlord and agency have both contacted the current tenant to return the money who initially returned £200 of the money and has since refused to return the rest stating that she has 'spoken to citizens advice bureau and she is within her right to keep the money'.

 

My question is, having not stayed or even moved into the room, are we not entitled the full amount back? Has she contravened one or several laws by not having a contract, not putting a deposit into a government scheme and also for subletting a room without the landlords consent?

 

I am at a loss to help her, and I know there are some incredibly knowledgeable people on this forum and am turning to you all for help. I have read through some similar posts and it seems the only option is to recover via the Small Claims Court, but I would love some advice on if I should report this to the police as theft, or can I claim interest on the amount owed (I have read 8% APR calculated daily on the amount owed?). I have read that if a landlord does not enter a deposit into a scheme then as per the law introduced in April 2007 we are entitled to 10x the deposit back. Not sure if this stands however as no contract was signed...).

 

The agency have tried to help as best they can but now all calls and letters are being ignored. They are happy to provide logs of emails and provide a statement to support our case.

 

Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you so much in advance

[renegadeimp]

ASk her in writing to refund the full "deposit" within 7 days. If she fails to comply, issue a lba and take her to small claims court. Dont forget to make sure you ask the judge to make her pay your costs.

Edited September 26, 2012 by renegadeimp

[nohope]

If she can not sub let then she can not keep any of the money anyway. Doubt they have even been to cab.

[45002]

Hello bmflex

 

Your friend need to act fast on this person who Stole your friends money,as if the LL is going to court for possession order,to stand any chance of suing in the county court before this thief is evicted....

[bmflex]

Hi, thank you all so much for your replies. The agency has already requested in writing to the tenant that she must return the money in 7 days or face legal action. The tenant has ignored the letter. I assume this can be classified as a lba?

 

If so is there a standard letter for small claims court or should I just file online?

 

Thank you all again!

[BazzaS]

Hi, thank you all so much for your replies. The agency has already requested in writing to the tenant that she must return the money in 7 days or face legal action. The tenant has ignored the letter. I assume this can be classified as a lba?

 

If so is there a standard letter for small claims court or should I just file online?

 

Thank you all again!

 

It seems clear that your friend has a clear case to be owed her money back, and a LBA, followed if need be by a County Court action may be the way forward.

 

My caveat is that, if the tenant (pseudo-landlord) is already owing the true landlord money, if a County Court action succeeds and generates a CCJ : will your friend be able to enforce it to get her money back?.

A CCJ that she can't enforce might be a Pyrrhic victory : she should be aware of this possibility before she decides how she wishes to proceed.

[45002]

Hi, thank you all so much for your replies. The agency has already requested in writing to the tenant that she must return the money in 7 days or face legal action. The tenant has ignored the letter. I assume this can be classified as a lba?

 

If so is there a standard letter for small claims court or should I just file online?

 

Thank you all again!

 

Small claims court,All you need to know hear http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/ManagingDebt/Makingacourtclaimformoney/DG_195118

[renegadeimp]

Just be aware, that if the tenant leaves and doesnt leave an address, then chances are you wont get your money back.

[mariner51]

Suggest your friend needs to start own action for recovery odf deposit. If it is a sublet without LL consent, deposit is not resp of superior LL, only the T who let the room.

A single letter headed Letter before Action asking for return of £x paid as a deposit to for room at

within 14 days to avoid further legal action, should suffice.

Post 1st class, with Cert of Posting, and keep a copy.

LA may provide you with rel sections of Ts AST to show she is the legit T, with no right to sublet.

 

Move fast, before LL action.

[bmflex]

Thank you all again for all your help. The agency has already sent a letter asking for the money to be returned as it should not have been kept in the first place. The agency has sent us a copy of this.

 

My question is, do I need to still send my own LBA before i raise a MCOL online claim? Or can I just go ahead and raise the claim now?

[renegadeimp]

Lba before any action is always the best way to handle things.

[bmflex]

OK so the documentation on the MCOL site did not mention a LBA. It did however state the defendant would receive a copy of the case to her address and will have 14 days to reply before action. I have included the cost of the outstanding amount (£308) interest calculated daily at 8% and the cost of the claim (£35).

 

Now we wait...

[renegadeimp]

MCOL only deals with the claims. But it is very good practice to issue a lba beforehand, as it shows the court you have given the other party a chance to rectify the situation without needing to use the courts time. The 14 days probably means they have 14 days to acknowledge receipt of the claim.

[bmflex]

We have letters from the Agency asking for the money to be returned, and they are willing to give a statement stating that the Defendant refuses to pay the amount back. We also have email chains asking for the money back and the girl refusing to pay the rest back. She offered to pay £100 of the £308 and put the rest down to 're-advertising costs for the room'. We declined and asked for the full amount. She refuses. The Agency said no other costs were required, and that she shouldn't have attempted to rent the room in the first place as it is a breach of her own contract to sublet. I'm hoping this is enough...

[renegadeimp]

That sounds ok, but i would still issue your own LBA and give her 7-14 days to refund the money in full. The last thing she wants would be a CCJ against her, and with the agency considering a claim as well, that would be 2 CCJ's.

[bmflex]

Can we still issue a LBA now that we have already filed a MCOL claim?

[bmflex]

If there is a standard template available to this effect that would also be amazing.... I have bookmarked several which I found on the forum when I first started researching into this claim, but not sure which one would be the most applicable in this situation.

[renegadeimp]

You don't have to issue an lba if you have evidence that they are refusing to meet your requests, which you have via the agency. I just advise people to do it as it gives them a definitive outline of whats happening and a strict timeline to rectify it.

[bmflex]

renegadeimp- Thank you for your prompt replies and help to date. This forum has provided an incredible support network for us.

[renegadeimp]

No problem. What you need to do is make sure you follow "protocol" and the legal system. Don't skip any part of it.

[bmflex]

Hi all!

 

A quick update, I filed a claim using MCOL:

 

Claimant paid £530 into Defendant’s account

on 31/08/2012 for tenancy due 01/09/2012.

Claimant did not proceed with tenancy, did

not move into property, and no Tenancy

agreement was signed as property dirty,

unhealthy (permeated with cigarette smoke)

and uninhabitable.

 

£222 returned by Defendant, who refuses to

return remaining £308 despite requests from

Claimant and agency (xxxxxxxxx of address xxxxxxxx).

 

The Defendant is in breach of her tenancy

contract- sub-letting without prior consent

of the Landlord, unbeknownst to Claimant.

The claimant claims interest under section 69

of the County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of

8% a year from 01/09/2012 to 02/10/2012 on

£308.00 and also interest at the same rate

up to the date of judgement or earlier payment

at a daily rate of £0.07.

 

The defendant had the audacity to file a defence / counterclaim....

 

GOOD NEWS! Received a letter from the court stating her defence / counterclaim had been struck out!

 

The letter the notice states it is served 'pursuant to paragraph 2.5(2) of the Practice Direction suplimenting Part 51 of the Civil Procedure Rules.'

 

It also states the order has been made without a hearing, and that the parties have the right to apply to have the order set aside, varied or stayed within 7 days of the order.

 

I have logged into MCOL and the on-line form still states the case is in 'defence' and there is no mention on-line of the defence being struck out...

 

Can anyone please kindly advise me of the next steps in this?

[bmflex]

Anyone? Bump for any advice please!