Who has my deposit?

[tzaddiqim]

Hi,

 

I have a problem getting a deposit back from a rented property.

 

With 3 friends I began renting a property in harrow around september 2005, in june 2006 I moved out and a new guy moved in to replace me. At this point the landlord instructed me that he intended to change letting agents and not to take the deposit from the incoming hosuemate as a whole new contract would be put together and all deposits refunded/trasnferred.

 

A few weeks later I asked both the landlord and the agent for my deposit back. Both parties insist that the other one is holding the deposit. The problem is that the landlord insists that they never gave him the deposit; the agent says they are not holding the entire deposit. Further more they are insisting that he owes them money so any part of the deposit that they may hyperthetically be holding is theirs anyway.

 

Frankly I trust neither the landlord nor agent, both have been confirmed to lie to myself or the other housemates and both have prooved to be highly money grabbing.

 

Basically all I need to know is who I need to issue the claim against?

 

Cheers

Brett

[LondonPam]

I would claim from the person that you gave the deposit to. Whod gave it to who after that is not your business.

Good luck.

[MrShed]

Always the landlord. The agent is just that, only an agent for the landlord. Any claim against the agent will fail.

[tzaddiqim]

Ok two contradictory posts, it was my understnading that the landlord should only hold deposits with writen permision of the tennant and that it should be held in escrow.

 

Also I forgot to say in the original post that the landlord's solicitor said that the landlord cannot claim the money from the agent as it is my money not his ...

 

further more... the last I asw the money it was with the agent... who also says no proof exists (or none that he can show me) that the money was with the landlord. so I really have no reason to believe that he does have it.

 

But you seem very confident MrShed, so I assume this logic is wrong...?

[blacksheep1979]

Did you get a recipt and if so who signed it - it would be them that I primarily go after and failing that a joint claim against both of them. Once they get the paperwork through they'll stop playing silly beggars as neither will want a ccj.

[MrShed]

Yeh it is definitely the landlord, does not matter whether he holds it or not. If the agent holds it, he is only holding it on behalf of the landlord. The ONLY contract that a tenant has is with the landlord, not the agent, thus any claims for anything related to the tenancy must be made against the landlord.

 

I will give my standard(ish!) response as well - if you are in any doubt about what I am saying, I can suggest one of three options:

 

- Pay me for my services, and I will give you the same answer in a professional capacity.

- Go to a specialist landlord forum such as www.landlordzone.co.uk/forum, where there are many more letting experts

- Consult with a specialist solicitor or look through case law

 

Please note I do not care if I am right or wrong, although it may not seem it - I only care that the poster gets the right answer, and as I know this is the right answer, I believe it important for him to know that. Otherwise he is going to be wasting time and money chasing the wrong person. I can definitely understand the point of view, which is why I am not slating it - I thought the same until I learnt differently! If the landlord loses and does not hold the deposit, he can then sue the letting agent for the amount.

[Jhawc24]

I totally back up Mr Shed on this one, the landlord is responsible to return your deposit to you. You can check this out here Shelter: Advice and support. Although you could save your time as I already contacted them for the answer.

 

This is the way I've done it to try and get my deposit back. Wrote initial prelim letter giving 14 days copied to both agent and landlord, followed up with 14 day LBA letter. Any court summons will be issued directly to my ex landlord.

 

Good luck x

[willj010]

Hi there, your legal relationship is with the landlord. You pair are the parties to the contract, and if there is a breach, your landlord is responsible. The agents are simply the landlords agent and will claim no knowledge or responsibility at any hearing is summoned.