Hello, Could someone possibly help me clarify what is meant by certain clauses in my AST. More so Clause 1.3.1. I am having trouble deciphering what is actually means: 1.3 The TERM The Term shall be for a minimum period of 6 months from and including 1st January 2012 AND THEREAFTER monthly until terminated by two months written notice. The TERM is to include any extension or continuation of the fixed term or a Statutory or Contractual Periodic Tenancy. 1.3.1 Upon expiry of the Term, the Landlord may at their sole discretion request or require that the Tenant enter into a new tenancy agreement. For thw avoidance of doubt, the Landlord will under no circumstances be required to offer a periodic extension to this tenancy agreement. Am i correct in thinking that this means i must giove 2 months notice even when the 6 month term has passed (1sy July 2012). The Landlord has lodged my deposit of £560.00 with the "Mydeposits" TDS and I am sure that he will try and retain the deposit if i dont adhere to the terms. I obviously want to act accordingly to the terms and I do realise that as I have signed the contract its my own fault. But is this unfair? I mean, I feel like I am trapped by these terms as it only suits the Landlord. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks GT

It was in the Manchester Court!

I just wanted to share my story with you regarding taking my landlady and letting agent to court and WINNING the 3 x penalty and costs and interest! I moved into a furnished rented apartment in Jan 2007 and moved out at the end of November 2009 so it was just shy of a 3 year tenancy. When I moved in, I signed a standard 12 month AST and paid a £575 deposit in good faith to the then Letting Agents, I will call them Letting Agents "A". During summer 2009, my landlady contacted me and told me that Letting Agents "A" had not been paying her my rent and so she had decided to change letting agents. The new Letting Agents "B" wanted to change the lock on my front door and wanted me to sign a new 6 month agreement so I did. I decided to move out in November 2009 mainly due to a very, very uncomfortable cheap "faux" leather sofa that had started to crack and tear due to daily use (as you do with a sofa). A week or so after moving out, Letting Agents "B" contacted me by phone to inform me that I would not be receiving my £575 deposit due to the damage to the sofa. Obviously I had a few words to say about that but the Letting Agents stood their ground and would not give me my deposit back. I investigated matters further and found out about TDS non-compliance. I contacted all 3 schemes and was informed that my deposit was not protected. I contacted my landlady and appealed to her better nature saying that I had been a prefect tenant for 3 years blah, blah, blah but she obviously didnt have a better nature to appeal to and said that I had intentionally damaged the sofa. I dont know about you but being a woman in my late 30's, I often decide to intentionally damage furniture...other peoples at that!! I told the LL that I would take her to court because she failed to protect my deposit and it could cost her "2.5k instead of the original £575, she was very cocky and said that it was Letting Agents "B" responsibility and that it would be them that I would take to court not her, after all thats what she pays them for! Nonetheless, I submitted my court forms against the landlady. It then became apparent that the landlady had raised a third party claim against Letting Agents "B" via her solicitor, basically saying that if what I say is correct about the 3xpenalty law, then Letting Agents "B" should be liable due to the contract the landlady had with them. From the copy documents submitted by the landladys solictor, it was argued that the 3 x penanlty rule didnt apply as the first AST I had signed was in January 2007, 3 months before the new Housing Act rules came into force. It was also argued that the sofa was "leather" and was worth £575 and so had to be replaced and there was no change left for little ole me. I did my research and found out about "betterment". Legally a landlord should not end up, either financially or materially in a better position than he was in at the commencement of the tenancy or than he would have been at the end of the tenancy having allowed for fair wear and tear. It follows therefore (and is an established legal tenet) that a landlord is not entitled to charge his tenants the full cost for having any part of his property, or any fixture or fitting “put back to the condition it was at the start of the tenancy.” This would constitute betterment. When the case finally got to court in August this year (9 months after filing my part 8 claim) the Landlady turned up with her solicitor, the letting agents turned up with their solicitor, i turned up on my own with stacks of evidence showing that the sofa in the apartment was not leather but plastic. I did this through simple internet searches on Buy to Let furniture using the dodgy invoice she had provided me with the sofa name "Dandy" showing. Dandy sofas are all over the internest and are advertsied as "Faux" leather....nuff said! The Judge ordered that the Landlady was attempting betterment and that the 3 x penalty rule did apply because of the replacement AST I had signed earlier that year! But that ultimately, the Letting Agent should pay the 3 x deposit due to their contract with the landlady. The best bit is that just before the court date in August, the Landladys solicitor kindly sent me a copy of their bill, obviously hoping that i would panic at the £2.5k bill and not turn up to court....not likely! Anyway, the Judge ordrered the Letting Agent to pay me £575 x 3 plus my original £575, plus my court costs and interest on the original £575, the Judge also stated that the Landlady must pay her own £2.5k legal bill and NOT the Letting Agent. Needless to say, the Landlady appealed this decsion. I got a letter from the courts last week saying that they would not allow the appeal to continue!! The Landlady had to pay her own £2.5k legal bill and the letting agents had already paid me £2.5k!! WINNER!! Not only did I get recompensed but hopefully the Letting Agent will now ensure all their tenants deposits are protected and the Landlady will now check that the Letting Agents have protected the tenants deposit! Talk about learning the hard way!

Dear All, I am looking for some advice, I do hope someone can help! I am in the process of taking my previous LL to the Small Claims Court for failure to comply with the Housing Act 2004 as my deposit was not protected. The case is scheduled for a hearing on 26 May. I moved out of this apartment in November 2009. My question relates to the current apartment I am in. I signed a 6 month AST last November and I am due to hand in my 30 days notice as I have found a new apartment and am due to move in end of May. Because of the issues with my previous LL, I am now very weary of this happening again so I checked the 3 deposit protection companies to see if this current deposit has been protected and unfortunately, it hasn't. My question is - what is the best approach to take in this situation. I dont really want to alert my current LL to the fact that I am aware my deposit isnt protected because I have heard of cases where the LL can protect it up until the last week of the tenancy agreement but at the same time I really dont want to have to pursue my current LL through the courts again! The LL in my current apartment is actually the developers and its not hard to notice that the developers may have financial issues because of the very poor unfinished building that I am living in....5 months down the line, nothing has changed, i.e. the lift still isnt working, the electricity is supplied by generators which frequently run out of diesel, unfinished communal areas and so on. So this leads me to think the worst and assume I would be very lucky to receive my deposit back. So do I show my hand now and let the LL know that I am aware of the Housing Act and their obligations which will potentally lead them to protecting it, or do I just go with the flow and see how they play it? This aprtment is unfurnished so I would imagine the LL would have problems in finding any damage unless of course it is fabricated. Thank you in advance as any advice is highly appreciated.

Hi Mr Shed, Yes, she has brought the letting agent into the claim.

Hi there, I wonder if anyone could kindly shed any light on my current situation. I submitted a CPR Part 8 claim on 26 Jan against my ex-landlady for witholding my deposit and subsequently failing to fulfill her obligations by not protecting my deposit with one of the three TDS. I did send her a LBA to which she ignored. So, along with my Claim form I submitted copies of the AST and letters from the TDS schemes confirming that they have no record of my property or landlady and never have had, I also included a copy of the LBA. I received a copy of the defences acknowledgement of service in February stating that they intend (she is using solicitors, i'm not) to defend all the claim. I therefore researched the Small Claims process and understood (hopefully correctly) that I would receive an Allocation Questionnaire to complete. After a week or so nothing arrived so I contacted the case management team at Mcr CC to find out what the situation was. I was told it had gone to the Judge for direction as the defendant had filed a part 20 counter claim against the letting agent she had used. This part 20 was not included in the copies I received from the defendants solicitors. 3 weeks and several calls later, it was still with the Judge. Now I have received an N24 - Notice Of Case Management when I havent even received an Allocation Questionnaire! Can anyone inform me why I have to attend a hearing when I havent even had the opportunity to respond the ridiculous claims in her defence? Is this because of the part 20 counter claim?? The landladys name is on my AST which is actually a replacement AST signed March 2009. My original AST was signed January 2007 before the Act came into force. However, I hope I am correct is stating that a replacement AST signed after April 2007 is still covered by the new Act? Thanks so much.

Hi, I am looking for some advice on the wording to use when requesting the court make on judgement due to the LL not responding to my N208 claim in the allocated 14 day period. My LL has until 4pm today to submit her response, although, as of yesterday, the court confirmed that a response had yet to be filed. I am due to call the court again at 3pm as I reckon that if the LL hasn't filed it by 3pm, then unless she leaves it until the dying minutes, she isnt going to bother! So, I am preparing my judgement request in advance (I know I may be jumping the gun here) as I am aware that until I make my request, the LL is still able to submit her reponse. So, I am preapring it so I can fax it over to them at 4pm!! I just wondered if there was any formal wording I should use? many thanks.

Thanks MrShed, TBH, I have doubts that I will get my deposit back. I have heard that the developers are having financial problems this being the main reason why the building isn't finished. I have been ripped off by one LL, I really dont fancy going through the same experience with my current LL. Ive only lived there a couple of months so damage has been caused or will be caused because....im a GreatTenant!!

Gee, thanks MrShed!

Hi, im in a very similar situation as Blue Crystal, however, I wish to move out of my flat one month before my agreement ends due to poor workmanship and general dis-repair of a brand new building. The lift in this apartment block has never worked and i moved in November last year (i live on the top (5th) floor). This is because the power supply to the block isn't linked to the mains but is actually powered by generators instead. Obviously, the generators run out of diesel pretty often. I also have very noisy neighbours from 3 sides which I think is probably more to do with poor sound insulation. The communal areas are unfinished and filthy. I have several snags on my list (brand new rented flat) that were handed into the developers/landlords at the start of December, nothing on this list has been addressed. So, my question is - would the developers/landlords have any case against me if I was to move out a month early but leave my £700 deposit in lieu of my final months £600 rent? I really don't want to cause myself any unnecessary stress as I'm currently taking my previous landlady to court using the CPR Part 8 route. I have to wait until the 10th Feb to find out if the LL responds within the 14 day time frame. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.