"You are eligible for TDS protection if you meet the following two criteria only: - You have an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST)" what if I Had an AST and paid deposit after April 2007 but tenancy has now ended?

Hi similar story to several others on here: Tennancy for 1 bed flat started with my partner on May 26th 2007, paid a deposit of £580. Moved out on 31st August 2008, sent final bills in September. When contacting landlord his 'manager' (man who took over running the business shortly before we moved out) said he'd look into it and get back to us but never did. LL has now stopped answering our calls, has never mentioned return of the deposit/how much we will get back, is just ignoring the issue and hoping we will drop it. Looking into the matter it appears our deposit was never registered under a TDS so have written a letter before action and compiling a N208 form. Have a few questions regarding the form, can anyone help??? 1. Do I file the claim at my local county court - Crewe or the one in the region where the property is - Manchester City court 2. HMCS guidance notes for calculating interest say that this should be calculated from the day the money became owed to you - is this on the deposit amount from 14 days after end of tennancy (£580 from Sept 2008 or on the deposit and penalties (3x deposit) from 14 days after LL took deposit and didn't protect it (£2320 from June 07)? as these amounts are very different. 3. I have filled in the claim form using the sticky on this site for breach of 213(1) that a TDS was not used but looking at the wording of our contract it appears to also breach 213(2): " No person may require the payment of a tenancy deposit in connection with a shorthold tenancy which is not to be subject to the requirement in subsection (1).". Our AST states that: “The tenant shall pay the landlord the sum of £580 deposit to the LL to be held w/out interest as security against rent, any obligatations required of the tenant under this tenancy Agreement, any repairs which are the responsibility of the tenant, and any legal proceedings which may be commenced by the LL against the tennant.” “The deposit will be refunded w/out interest by cheque upon the tenant giving proof that all gas, water, electric, telephone, and council tax bills for the property have been paid, and upon a satisfactory report and schedule of the dilapidations (if any) accrued at the termination of the tenancy and prepared by the inventory clerk (appointed by the LL agent) shall be accepted by each of the parties hereto and it is agreed that the decision of the inventory clerk in respect of whether or not any item of dilapidation(s) has or has not accrued is attributed to either party is final and binding upon them.” This wording suggests to me that he had no intention of protecting the deposit, indeed he never mentioned a scheme or gave us an ID number and we were unaware of the TDS until after we moved out. Should I mention clause 213(2) in my claim as this seems to be an additional point where my LL has broken the law? (Also we never had an inventory completed at the start or end of the tennancy, even the contract which was signed by all parties at the letting agent on May 26th has no witness signatures on it - does this affect our position?) Grateful for any advice

Thanks. I didn't realise it was that cheap so I have tried it for the house but it comes up 'Sorry, we have been unable to find a property that matches your enquiry'. even though the address on the agreement is the one my daughter lived in for over a year. I went to the estate agent and they would not give me his address. The original letting agent wouldn't either but did say they no longer dealt with him. Can we issue a claim N208 even though we don't know his address?

I am writing this on behalf of my student daughter who left her flat in Manchester last August having given notice. She had signed a Tenancy Agreement on 26th May 2007 with a £580 deposit to the landlord. She left because there was a murder in one of the flats! She does not think the landlord registered the deposit. The day she left the LL said he would send the deposit on receipt of final bills. This she did promptly and she always paid rent due. The agreement mentions a company c/o the LL's name. When she rang she spoke to the manager (LL relative) who asked for more copies of the final bills to be sent to a P.O. box number. She has sent several letters since including Recorded Delivery which have been returned unopened. The LL has gone to ground. I have found out today via the web that the properties (4 large terraced) for sale for £1,900.000! My question is how can we find an address for the company or the LL? Can I ask the estate agent? And is there any hope for the deposit refund? Any advice most welcome.