New tenancy problem

[marypoppins]

Re: New tenancy problem

10 days already up!
A spreadsheet showing itemised cleaning was emailed to the LL which she rejected because it was on an excel spreadsheet!

Another one was written out and she would only accept by post! It has been posted this week.

Irrespective of this, we can't see why she won't discuss any deductions she is considering as the itemised bill isn't going to make the house any cleaner/dirtier than when the checkout inspection was done.

When the checkout was done she was finding 'invisible' dust in places and insisted that the tenants did further cleaning (which they did to keep the peace) and she was of the opinion that their standards were not up to hers, despite them referring to the check in inventory every time she questioned something and she insisted that only her opinion counted! Unfortunately the check in company has gone bust so we can't go back to them, not that I think this would have made any difference.

They have many photo's which I have seen and it was in a much better condition than when they moved in, they also recorded some of the meeting and she was very difficult to deal with and shouted at them like they were 5 year olds!

She also said that they should have allowed a full day for the checkout to be done when one of the tenants questioned how much longer she planned to be there because they needed to be elsewhere and pointed out that she had been an hour late!

Where next PlanB?

[marypoppins]

Re: New tenancy problem

I've just been reading a fact sheet off the CAB site about the difference between an insurance back deposit scheme and a custodial one, which has put my mind a little bit to rest.

She uses my deposits which I know doesn't hold the money but I wasn't aware that any disputed amount has to be paid by the LL to the deposit scheme in the case of a dispute, until a resolution is agreed.

[PlanB]

Re: New tenancy problem

Where next PlanB?

She uses my deposits .

The lead tenant should raise a dispute online here http://www.mydeposits.co.uk/tenants/...ster-a-dispute


Q. My Landlord intends to make a deduction from part of my deposit but I have not received the remaining amount, what happens now?

The Landlord has 10 days to return all or part of your deposit. If you do not receive any of your deposit then you may raise a dispute for the full amount. We will request the Landlord sends all of the deposit to us. If the Landlord makes payment of any undisputed amount after 10 days but before lodging it with us, we will ask for proof that this has been done i.e. bank transfer receipt or written confirmation from you.


There is no need to have any further contact with the Landlord once a dispute has been raised.

My only advice is to keep it factual not emotional when articulating the dispute to the scheme

[marypoppins]

Re: New tenancy problem

Once again thank you PlanB.

[marypoppins]

Re: New tenancy problem

Dear LL,

As lead tenant and on behalf of XYZ, can you please advise on receipt of this email, any reason you may have for withholding our deposit?

I am sure you will appreciate that the statutory time limit of ten days has now been exceeded.

If you intend to withhold any money, please send a written breakdown explaining your reasons, itemising and detailing any financial losses you believe you have suffered. Please include copies of any relevant receipts

Yours etc....

Will that suffice PlanB?

[PlanB]

Re: New tenancy problem

I would tweak it slightly to sound more like a demand for the return of the deposit. This woman needs a forthright approach or she doesn't 'get it'. No need to be overly polite on this occasion

Tell her that the 10 day statutory time limit for return of the deposit has expired and you request the full sum to be paid into bank account no 123456789 sort code 10-11-12 with immediate effect.

Tell her if she has any reason to withhold part of the deposit she must put her reasons in writing including any receipts to justify these deductions within seven days and pay the balance into your account now.

Warn her that if the matter is not resolved by Monday 18th August you will raise a dispute with mydeposits without further reference to her as is your legal right.

I'd also call mydeposits and tell them what you've done. They will log it on their system. That way she'll flag up as an awkward customer from the start. Get your word in first.

[marypoppins]

Re: New tenancy problem

Thank you PlanB, that's much better than my version!

Unfortunately the 'lead' tenant is in the 'I don't want to upset the LL' mode, which I do understand because of all the hassle they've had but I think the others have to push this asap and I agree that it really needs to be on record asap with my deposits.

[marypoppins]

Re: New tenancy problem

The lead tenant eventually realised that the LL couldn't withhold ALL of the deposit so an email was sent last night demanding repayment as per your advice PlanB.

I had to send it via my old talktalk email in order to obtain a read and delivery receipt as this option isn't available on gmail or hotmail it seems.

No response so far but I 'accidentally' called the LL mobile this morning but quickly disconnected and of course the call was returned because it was an unrecognisable number and she runs a business so would possibly think it's a customer.

I said who I was and that I'd called by accident but as an aside, I just mentioned the email that had been sent and asked her to reply to the tenants accordingly. I didn't mention the contents of the email but she quickly stated that they knew what deductions she was going to make and it had been done at the checkout.


This indicated that she had read the email but I haven't had a read or delivery receipt. I realise that a read receipt is optional for the recipient but I thought a delivery one would be automated.

I didn't question her comments but just said that the email was self explanatory and she said that she would be sending a self explanatory one back! End of conversation.

My deposits will not register any dispute until 10 days after the formal demand is issued so they're obviously not happy since they've already waited 15 days! Nowhere on the AST does it state that the return of the deposit has to be formally requested.

[PlanB]

Re: New tenancy problem

The 'formal demand' is one of the deposit scheme rules and not something you would find in a tenancy agreement.

I checked out the Lead Tenant issue since I was interested to know what would happen if not all of the Tenants agreed on what should or shouldn't be deducted. Mydeposits told me that in those circumstances any of the other Tenants can raise a dispute relating to their portion of the deposit as long as they can provide evidence that they have paid it.

So if there are four Tenants who each paid £500 towards the deposit at the outset, then your son can raise a dispute over his £500 even if the others are happy to walk away and let her charge them for cleaning they don't owe but are happy to pay. The Landlord would then have to pay your son's portion (£500) into their scheme while his dispute is arbitrated.

I was curious because I've never known four kids in their 20s to ever agree on anything unanimously so it's good to know there is a system in place for that eventuality

[marypoppins]

Re: New tenancy problem

That's very interesting, the thought did occur to me but I hadn't investigated and now you've done it for me, thank you!

I don't think it will be necessary to go it alone, he's moved into another house now and is still sharing with one of the others and I think that getting the point over about her holding on to all of the money made them realise that she's not playing ball and they have to start kicking her ass!

Nothing they can do now until the 10 days have elapsed which is annoying but out of their control.

I hope she realises now that they aren't going to roll over and give in to her demands (that's if she ever tells them what they are!)

Will update as and when.

[marypoppins]

Re: New tenancy problem

There has been no response to the email sent with the formal demand (surprise surprise)

I have called the LL this evening simply to ask when she is going to return the deposit or a proportion of it depending on the proposed deductions.

She claims that she didn't receive the email (all other tenants did) and that she had only today received a final quote (for whatever jobs she deems are needed) that she had been waiting for in order to calculate the deductions!

I won't go into the details of the conversation and would only say that she is the most unreasonable person I have ever spoken with and just shouts and rants and would not answer the question.

I ended the conversation by asking her to email the lead tenant with details of the deductions tonight and advised that it was more than likely that a dispute was going to be lodged with my deposits.

Result !She has emailed the lead tenant and advised that she will be sending 'documents and a cheque' by special delivery!

Why a cheque, is this acceptable? Bearing in mind the post won't be sent until tomorrow so a cheque would have to be banked on Thursday/Friday, it's a bank holiday so the cheque would take longer to clear!

Why not detail things in an email?

More delays methinks!!

[PlanB]

Re: New tenancy problem

There has been no response to the email sent with the formal demand (surprise surprise)

Maybe because the Tenants' demand for the return of the deposit was only made on 15th August and the Landlord has 10 days to respond

Nothing they can do now until the 10 days have elapsed which is annoying but out of their control.

[PlanB]

Re: New tenancy problem

I won't go into the details of the conversation and would only say that she is the most unreasonable person I have ever spoken with and just shouts and rants and would not answer the question.

I ended the conversation by asking her to email the lead tenant with details of the deductions tonight and advised that it was more than likely that a dispute was going to be lodged with my deposits.

Result !She has emailed the lead tenant and advised that she will be sending 'documents and a cheque' by special delivery!

Why a cheque, is this acceptable? Bearing in mind the post won't be sent until tomorrow so a cheque would have to be banked on Thursday/Friday, it's a bank holiday so the cheque would take longer to clear!

Why not detail things in an email?

You've edited your last post with some updates - I'm struggling to keep up with this fast changing situation

I'm now going to play Devil's Advocate.

The Landlord is returning the deposit by cheque. What's wrong with that?

She's doing it six days before she's obliged to (i.e. 10 days after the formal demand for a return of the deposit).

Where does it say in the legislation that a Landlord has to communicate by email not by letter?

Why is she even taking any notice of your emails/phone calls since you are not party to the tenancy agreement and you're not the Lead Tenant?

If she shouts and rants and doesn't answer your questions could that be because she doesn't have to legally speaking?


I'm on your side Mary, but the arbitrator or the court won't be because you have absolutely nothing to do with this legal contract save for the fact that you stumped up the money for your son. That's not his Landlord's problem

[marypoppins]

Re: New tenancy problem

But the formal demand gave her until 18th August to resolve the matter.

[PlanB]

Re: New tenancy problem

Posted on 14th August:

Unfortunately the 'lead' tenant is in the 'I don't want to upset the LL' mode, which I do understand because of all the hassle they've had but I think the others have to push this asap and I agree that it really needs to be on record asap with my deposits.

Posted on 15th August:

The lead tenant eventually realised that the LL couldn't withhold ALL of the deposit so an email was sent last night demanding repayment as per your advice PlanB.

I had to send it via my old talktalk email in order to obtain a read and delivery receipt

The demand was sent on 14th August which gives the Landlord until the 24th August to respond.

I may be rubbish at maths but surely 14 + 10 = 24