yay !!!

Oh I should add that I havent canx the claim yet because the Bank told me it would take until Weds this week to settle for sure.....so incase he sent me a rubber CQ I am waiting.....I'm so glad I told all the current tenants because they look to me like people who will cause him a LOT of grief.....

So I waited for 2 weeks after Notice was served on the ex-LL and on the last day voila - CQ on the mat from old LL ...... no defence and no explanation....he didnt even try to set it aside..... so clearly he didnt have a leg to stand on and knew it.....glad I went and told all the present tenants about it....they are already saying they wont pay their last months rent and looking into their legal position as he hasnt protected their deposits..... what an a**hole.....anyway glad I got my money back and thanks for the help everyone...... Adios !

huh - well I will be gathering all of this kind of stuff together if he says he is going to defend it.......so thanks for pointing that out to me....

Yes please Carpet Cleaners - can you put up all the info? Sorry I have not been back, the site did not tell me anyone had posted lately.....glad I came back today to look..... So I put in my N1 form and it has been served on the LL and he has until 4pm on Dec 8th to decide what he wants to do. So at 10am on Dec 9th I will be down at the court asking the clerk whats going on and if LL hasnt responded I'll ask them to serve Judgement (or whatever its called)....I presume he will then play all sorts of tricks to delay it further...I heard he can apply to time-waste thro asking to have it 'set aside' or something like that and I will probably have to go to the trouble of also enforcing the judgement but the one thing he will be able to see is that none of this is costing me anything because I get working tax credits so its not as annoying to me as he might wish it to be.....I also spelt it out on the N1 that the agreement with Agent verbally about a 'weeks notice' was witnessed ......and that my leaving the place in good repair was also witnessed. (I took pics too). The only defence which they might drum up that I was scared about was the Notice period but I saw another lovely Lawyer who usually defends LL's and she told me I have a very strong case. She said that the Judge has to go by the contract I signed even if it was rubbish and any ambiguity goes in my favour.... she read the clause about the notice of 7 days and said that can be read in my favour. I burst into tears I was so stressed by all of this and she told me when I know what this Idiot LL is doing to go back to her (FOR FREE)....very nice lady..... I STILL think that the LL should be punished for this sort of thing and that its outrageous he can just steal my money and I have to go to all the stress of chasing him and he doesnt get any penalty on him but oh well....I will certainly go back to the site and make sure everyone there knows their rights.....I also heard from the Postman that a bunch of the Lodge owners at the same place are angry with him and chasing him for 1 thing or another....that kinda worries me....I mean I have no idea how the law works but if he is long in the tooth with evasion tactics of 1 sort or another it may be that I can never really get to his assets for my £700 back. He has probably declared bankruptcy years ago and squirrellled everythig away in his wife's name....clever bloke, he will know who to employ to find all the loopholes to allow him to operate his dodgy outfit AND HE IS A MAJOR PLAYER OF THE MASONIC LODGE IN HIS HOME COUNTY......I looked at the pics of him and his Masonic buddies and it was like a non-stop line-up of Peds....horrible....to think that people like that are running the country is sick .....sorry to any Masons on here who may be decent sorts !

I am in similar situation to Onthemove1 ie have got caught out by this stupid Judge who ruined the 3x thing for everyone who has been taken for a ride by their LL....I dont geddit, how could a Judge think that the 3x part could NOT apply to someone who has left a tenancy???...... many of us dont find out we arent protected until after we leave and ask for the deposit back.....surely thats WHY the 3x bit was written in the first place? What kind of moron was this Judge to decide that you have to sue your LL while STILL IN RESIDENCE??? Like nice atmosphere for older single ladies and other vulnerable types (such as me) against a LL who has Thuggish Agents with keys to your property.....even if I had known about all this back then I would not have taken those guys to court for fear of my home being burst into in the night.....I cant believe what an idiot that Judge must have been. Meanwhile I am waiting now to see if the Idiot LL I had is going to defend or set aside my Notice that has just been served on him...

I think i can do it now: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches

I heard there is a program on Channel 4 on Monday nights about Landlords from hell but Im not allowed to post the link yet coz I havent been here long enough.... Just thought I would share that.....

Thanks muchly everyone - the legal eagle I spoke with this am was the 1 who told me: that by law I am supposed to give a month's notice so I guess IF the LL disputes the claim based on the Notice period I will have to gather evidence in 'Acts and Sections' kind of spiel to refute him. Anyway what I did today was fill out my N1 and hand it in. Even tho Legal Eagle told me to keep it simple I did try to jam as much as I could on the page ! I have asked for interest but not costs as I get Working Tax Credits so I don't have to pay the fees for court. I think once I am at the Hearing is when the clerk said I can ask for travel expenses to be thrown in. So now I have to wait for them to process the N1 and serve the Order, which means around 1st week of December I will hear if LL defends the claim. And if he does presumably I find out why then. Yes I will for sure go and tell all the other tenants there that they need to get their claims in for 3xDep NOW while they are resident ONCE I know how my case is gonna go! What does a Summary Judgement mean? And how do I do that exactly? Webranger can you explain please why you say he broke law? Which law? The fact that he didnt put Deposit in a Protection scheme you mean? Thanks again everyone. This has got to be 1 of the most tawdry things that ever happened to me.....I cant believe some people.

Hi Raydetinu - thnx for reply. Unfortunately I am a single older lady, no butch man at my side and no Doberman either...so this Agent who yelled at me he would give me a 7 day eviction notice if I didnt do as he wanted completely freaked me out. He slammed down the phone and I was left shaking. In that state I did not ask the CAB the right questions. I couldnt even think straight and anyway by the time they saw me the timeframe was very squished in order to get back to meet the Agent. This kind of thing throws all my normal reasoning capacity out of the window and I became a jibbering wreck ! I had never been in a situation like this before. I just assumed that if I did not sign the agreement that evening as he told me I had to that he would be the 1 coming round under cover of darkness to throw me out forcibly in some way. I was completely freaked out so that evening when his sidekck arrived I had a friend to witness everything and refused to sign. That was actually a valuable window of opportunity that I can use to my advantage as my friend will come with me to the Court and 'witness' a lot of things that got said. But the legal eagle told me today that the law says a months notice of intent is required even tho its a fixed term contract so I dont know. The thing now is to get the forms in and THEN see what his defence is I guess and jump that hurdle when it comes. I will say tho that I had a long discussion in front of witness with the Agents sidekick and HE said that as it says in the Contract I only need to give 1 weeks notice of intent without forfeiting deposit.

New Question: I paid my rent on the 1st of every month. On Sept 19th I gave them notice that I would be leaving at the end of the 6 month term ie Sept 30th. (I was effectively forced to do this imo because Agent bullied and intimidated me, threatening me with 7 day eviction notice if I did not re-sign another 6 month Contract that day. I was told by CAB NOT to sign any more of these sham contracts with him because it was implicating me in their dodgy practices). So if they argue that by law I should give them 1 months notice and that is why they are keeping my deposit (even tho the sham agreement said nothing particularly intelligible about Notice period and Agent previously said 1 week was all that they needed) would that mean they can keep the WHOLE deposit ? OR would they only be able to keep the part of it that covered Sept 19th to Oct 19th? ie I would still get back approx 12 days rent? Thankyou !

Thnx for advice Steve. I spoke to a Free Legal Eagle this am. He agrees. He said fill out the N1 and keep it as simple and straightforward as possible. He said the following incase it helps anyone else: On the N1 form... 1. Where it says the Defendant(s) I asked him what to put because I never met the LL but on the sham agreement he gave me it says he and his wife are the 'Landlords' and I used to pay my rent into their joint bank account. I asked if I have to write out a Claim agaist both of them individually (2 forms) or if 1 claim form to them as tho they are a joint entity is ok and he said 1 form. 2. Where it says Brief Details of Claim - he said write 'I am claiming return of my deposit having left the property at end of agreed tenancy'..... 3. Under Value he said to write: I expect to recover not more than £5000 incl interest 4. Under Particulars of claim he said to write something along lines of: I paid deposit of £695 to LL on April 1st for a 6 month tenancy which ended Sept 30th when I moved out. My Deposit was not put in a DPS. My Dep has not been returned to me despite repeated requests nor has any reason been given for non-return of deposit. I demand my deposit back. He said that the thing the LL may claim is that I DID NOT GIVE THEM ENOUGH NOTICE ! Because the Law of the land says I have to give them 1 months notice. In the sham Agreement it mumbles something vague about 1 weeks notice. I actually asked the Agent (no witness) how much notice i had to give back in early August and he pointed to that line of the Contract and said 1 week. So I gave them 11 days notice on Sept 19th of my intentions, having been effectively bullied out of property. I wrote to say on Sept 19th that I would be moving out at end of lease ie Sept 30th. Unfortunately for me the property then stood vacant for 1 month so I imagine he will try a clever dodge that way BUT he runs the risk of then exposing himself in court with these sham agreements he has going on. However these kinds of crooks seem to be as happy as larry to blatantly and brazenly flout the law so I wouldnt expect Judge to necessarily rap him and favour me. He is rich enough and arrogant enough to have a Solicitor who will handle it for him no doubt and as he is a crook with people chasing him for money already and I have seen the kinds of people he employs (Agents) I dont hold out much hope that I will be able to stand up against a smooth talking crook solicitor. I will ask to take a friend who is strong and clear (not her money) and do my best but I guess I feel semi-defeated before I even start. The whole thing is a freakin bad joke. Sorry for bad attitude !! Need a cup[ of coffee !

Thanks Ray - I got confused because I read somewhere on this Forum that N208 is for when you want to claim the 3x Dep and N1 is for when you want to just claim the Dep alone. The Court clerk gave me N1 forms which I began to fill out but then all the talk about also claiming 3x Dep muddled my head. So you think N208? I cant find the postings I was reading that talked about these forms now.

I am sorry that was all so long... the problem is that I cant find specific advice for my situation. The LL has not paid back my deposit. It did not go in a protection scheme. It appears his tenancy agreement is a dodgy one. I want my deposit back. Never mind the 3x business. What do I do? The N208 or the N1? Pleeeeease anyone out there who can help ? Thankyou so much.

This seems helpful Steve-M ....I was rather losing heart prior to finding this......I have just posted about my own situation because I am confused by what I should do to complete step 1 of this whole process to even start a claim....ie should I fill out an N1 or an N208? Doea anyone know the latest and best thing to do wrt this question please? Thankyou very much.

ok I apologise that I posted my question in the wrong place earlier today so am moving it now. Here goes: Hello - I would really appreciate some advice as I have been reading about making small claims and am a little confused by some of the wording I have seen. I signed a 6 month agreement which is titled 'Holiday Letting Agreement' starting April 1st to run to end of Sept 2011 and was asked to hand over £695 cash (to secure the place) as a deposit. I was given a receipt for this by the Agency who run the LL's affairs. The deposit went directly to the Landlord and not into a Deposit Protection Scheme that I am aware of. The rent was £695/month which I paid every month by DD straight into LL bank account. The whole operation had a flavour of 'dodginess' about it right from the start but not being familiar with the latest UK law (been living abroad) I liked the cottage itself and decided to go ahead and take it on....I did go to the CAB early on to ask them about it all and they said regardless of what kind of tenancy agreement I had signed it was a shorthold tenancy and he ought to put Deposit in a Scheme and if there was any problem with return of deposit at end of term to go back to them. No-one supplied me with an Inventory and altho the tenancy agreement says 'unfurnished' they provided me with furniture and the rent was all inclusive of bills. ALL bills. There was no provision for telephone to property so we all had to use mobiles (other cottages on site also leased on similar basis ie says Holiday Let but really long term lets). I lived there relatively happily until Sept when the Landlords Agent called me up on Sept 16th to ask me to meet him on a date that suited him (Sept 19th) to re-sign for another 6 month agreement. Each time I had to sign the new Contract I was also expected to pay £75 Admin fee. I asked if I was within my rights to wait until Sept 23rd to re-sign (1 week before end of tenancy), as he had previously indicated, and he said yes. So I said thats what I wanted to do ie I didnt want him bullying me to re-sign it. On Sept 19th we spoke by phone and he started yelling at me that if I did not re-sign the Contract that evening he would give me a 7 day eviction notice. He then threw the phone down on me. I was left shaking and astonished. I know you don't know this but I am the PERFECT tenant, keep it clean, tidy, no repairs needed, pay rent on time etc etc. So he had no excuse for trying to evict me other than I was standing up to his bullying tactics. Went to CAB that day.... they took legal advice that the Tenancy Agreement I had was not legitimate, he was not allowed to evict me with 7 days notice and that Landlord should have put Deposit in protection scheme. Was told not to sign anything more. So that evening the Agents other half turned up with a new 6 month Contract, I had witness standing by and refused to sign Contract. He said I have been told to give you a 7 day eviction notice. I said there is only 11 days to end of the lease, lets be reasonable. He said ok after I leave I suggest you send in notice that you will be leaving at the end of the tenancy ie Sept 30th. So I did that. I left property in good state of repair. Needless to say it is now Nov 14th and Deposit has not been returned. I started to make calls to Landlord as of mid-Oct and on Oct 31st sent him a letter (worded by CAB) to say I would begin legal action if deposit was not returned by Nov 7th. I stated in that letter that I had taken legal advice and was told that a court would be likely to regard the tenancy I had as an AST and that under the terms of such he should have protected Deposit and fact that he didn't is a breach of law.....I stated that if dep was not returned in the timeframe given (7 days) I would take further legal action. Since that time I spoke to CAB but it wasn't much help with the DETAILS. They told me I have to small claim it if I want my Dep back and not to pay for a Solicitor as I can't be sure of getting costs back. I then spoke to a Legal Assistant type and she was pretty ineffectual about my chances too so I started to feel quite anxious. The LL is a FreeMason so associated paranoia wafted thro my head. I have also heard off the record LL has other people chasing him for money. He appears to be a dodgy operator who gets away with evading the law. I went to local Courts to get forms and they gave me N1 forms. I stuck to my inquiries and ended up sitting in front of a very ebullient Solicitor who told me the LL is a fool and I NEED to take this to Court if only to empower myself ! He told me that I can claim not just the deposit but 3 times the deposit as well in damages. However I see postings on here which indicate that now I have left property I may not be able to claim the 3 months. In fact 1 post I read seems to suggest I may not even be able to get my deposit back now I have left? Having done some reading around I was about to fill out N1 with the following which I found on here.... but then I read that this needs to go on N208.....but then I read that the whole 3 months damages might be a mute point now as I have moved out..... and then I read a reference to recent cases plus Section 215 of the 2004 Act....so now I am confused what I can and can't claim for and what to do : The Claimant claims under section 214(1)(a) of the Housing Act 2004 that the deposit of £_____ required by the tenancy agreement dated [date] in respect of the premises at [address] made between the Claimant and the Defendant was not paid into an appropriate tenancy deposit scheme (in breach of section 213(1) of the Housing Act 2004), or that the Claimant did not receive the prescribed information concerning which Tenancy Deposit Scheme was holding the deposit within 14 days of the Defendant's receipt of the deposit (in breach of section 213(3) of the Housing Act 2004). And the Claimant asks that the court make an order: 1. That the person who appears to the court to be holding the deposit do repay it to the Claimant, in accordance with section 214(3) of the Housing Act 2004. 2. That the Defendant do pay to the Claimant, within 14 days of the making of the order, a sum of money equal to three times the amount of the deposit, in accordance with section 214(4) of the Housing Act 2004. 3. The Claimant claims interst under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of 8% a year, from [date deposit should have been returned] to [date court claim submitted] of £______[worked out using the court's interest rate calculator on their website], and interest at the same rate up to the date of judgment or earlier payment at a daily rate of £_______[worked out using the court's interest rate calculator on their website]. The Claimant is therefore seeking payment of £______[four times the amount of the Deposit], plus the court fee and interest. I have also just finished reading Willie Nelson's nightmare Landlord/Deposit story with mention of Potts and Gladehurst cases.....as I understand it I need to take this to the small claims court but I need to be CAREFUL right off the bat: a) which form I use...N1 or N208 (is the latter form what someone referred to as a Part 8?) b) what I say on the claim.....the bolded black/red letter that I cut n pasted above may now be out of date due to the cases mentioned..... All I wanted initially was my £695 back. Yes of course to punish the landlord I'd love to claim 3 x deposit as well but if that is going to complicate matters I can drop it. On the other hand if threatening him with 3xDep makes him more likley to cough up the deposit prior to hearing I'll do it. I dont have to pay court costs as I get Working Tax Credits. I did take photos on leaving when the Site Manager looked around and said she could see no reason for me not getting deposit back. One of the agents also said in front of witness that he couldnt see why I wouldn't get my deposit back within 2 weeks of vacating property. The only thing I can see them claiming is that I did not give them enough notice of my intent to vacate property which meant I moved out at end of lease (Sept 30th) and it then stood vacant for a month. But the Tenancy agreement such as it is does not state how much notice I am supposed to give them. As I said previously the Agreement is a Holidy Lettings agreement which they run for 6 monthly terms. Its basically a dodge because the LL hasn't got planning permission to use the properties for anythign other than Holiday dwellings I heard. I would guess there is other dodgy stuff going on such as him not paying council taxes etc but I dont know for sure. They are disputing a previous tenant's deposit because her cat damaged their property (leather sofa). I saw the damage and I feel that is a legitimate claim. For me however there is NOTHING NADA ZIP they can pin on me because I am the IDEAL tenant. The Agency the LL uses is made up of Mr Nice (smooth talker) and Mr NAsty (bullying son of FreeMason who is friends with LL FreeMason). Mr Nice was the 1 who talked me out of a cash deposit in the first place (yes I was gormless I admit it). Mr Nasty was the 1 who bullied me and when I stood up for my rights then threatened me with eviction and yelled at me. Mr Nice said himself in front of witness he was surprised that Mr Nasty went off the deep end because I was the best tenant they had. I am just sharing all of this because I feel like passing out and have lost the plot after seeing what Willie Nelson went through. The issue is that the Agent did get me to sign what looks like a sham/non-legal (need to be careful of wording here) Holiday Lettings agreement for a 6 month term and I did nothing wrong and LL has not returned deposit and I don't exactly know the details of the claim I should be making. Should I quote the whole of the Housing Act from 213 through to 215 verbatim on a separate sheet of paper and just say I want my deposit back and intrest and if it is correct to get it 3xDep? Thanks folks, I have to go take a break now. This site is amazing but its also quite worrying as a new sucker on the block to know how to proceed at this point. I have asked a Solicitor if he is willing to represent me on the grounds that it is worth it to me to be out of pocket and ruled right than go thro all the stress of contesting this alone. But he may say No.

Willie - thanks for outlining your nightmare so diligently and fully for people like me to read....I am horrified by what has gone on for you.......I also have been taken for a ride by a LL it seems and if anyone can help me I would really appreciate it as I am a bit confused reading all of this over the timeframe it has taken you to understand what I/you should/shouldn't be claiming or writing on the Claim form and even which claim form to use....thnx and no intent to disrupt your thread, I will follow the rest of your case with sympathy...from what I can make out it does look like she is never going to pay you and will get away with it.... it looks like employing a Solicitor would have probably shortened this whole process and sorted it fully by now surely? So much stress.....unbelievable....