Deposit problems

[MrShed]

As a point of note, it will reflect badly upon yourself in small claims not claiming within a fairly reasonable time period, although any extenuating circumstances would obviously help in this matter. This is not to say that it is not a legitimate claim, but judges often look badly upon what they see as frivolous claims.

[MrShed]

No it must be the landlord you sue. You have no contract with the agent.

[MrShed]

There is no question that the landlord is the only person you can sue for the deposit. From the eyes of a tenant, legally, the agent and the landlord are one and the same in a legal sense, as the agent is "agent" for the landlord.

[MrShed]

I don't realyl understand what you mean N4B. Service of papers must be served to the landlords address, obviously. And any action taken by the agent with regards to the letting of the property is as if the landlord was doing it. Obviously any actions taken which are not to do with the letting of the property is the responsibility of the person themselves, as they are no longer acting as an agent.

 

I am not saying you are wrong N4B, I just don't quite understand what you mean!

[MrShed]

Ah...sorry I understand your point Unfortunately, its very much a case of c'est la vie. Like any other summons(a particular example I can think of is the reverse - a landlord suing an ex tenant), you mustfirst locate that person, and it is your responsibility to do so. If you cannot locate the ex landlord, then you cannot then decide that the responsibility lies with the easy target - unfortunately. However, there is a VERY useful tool for ex tenants to find the address of their landlord - the land registry. For about £2-3, you can get the address of the landlord from their records on the rental property.

 

And you probably did make it clear N4B - I think my hangover is kicking in!!!

[MrShed]

The landlord is only obliged to provide his contact address DURING the tenancy if asked. After the tenancy has finished, he has no such obligation.

[MrShed]

OK. For a tenancy to be set up and legally accepted, the landlord must provide the tenant with a Section 20 notice at the outset of the tenancy. This S20 is almost always simply provided as part of the AST - it basically includes the name and address of the landlord, or name and address of someone else acting upon his behalf in England and Wales. Incidentally, this is why if you are letting out property when you live abroad somewhere, you must provide the name and address of a representative in E+W. If this information is not provided, rent is not legally payable, and any eviction notice will fail until such information is provided.

 

If the name+address given is that of a representative of the landlord, then at any point during the tenancy a tenant can formally request(not neccessarily in writing, but obviously difficult to prove if not) the name and address of the actual landlord. The representative(usually a letting agent) must provide these details within 28 days of the request, or they are breaching the Housing Act. It is not the responsibility of the tenant to find out these details other than formally requesting them. Therefore the short answer to your question is no, it would not fulfil the agent's(NOT the landlord's) obligation to provide such details on request. Hope that helps