Hi, It is difficult to write the whole incident but I will write to the point and any kind of help and input will really be appreciated. My 2 bedroom flat was flooded with sewage water on 2nd Jan, 2011 and 2 rooms were fully flooded and cleaners and insurance company declared it uninhabitable (though living room was not flooded as I was there and water did not enter in living room), 4 flats in same floor were flooded, so it was definitely not LL fault or my - tenant fault, this was caused by community living in that building which has 70 flats, so can not blame anybody in this case. I lived with my friends for initial 2 days and then moved to a guest house and payment was made by my landlord’s insurance but only for around 3 weeks. (I paid for initial 2 days but I got that back from my LL insurance) Flat was not fixed during this time and my landlord then wanted me to end the contract (because it may take several weeks before flat will be fixed), I had no place to go and all my stuff was still in the flat, During this time I also started looking for new accommodation as well as some other cheaper alternative accommodation and found one but that was not available till 12th Feb, 2011. On 14th Jan I gave him notice of 4 weeks, told him that tenancy will end on 14th feb as 4 weeks of notice was required. I used to pay rent on 20th of every month, and before 20th Jan I came to know that my landlord or his insurance company is not ready to accommodate me anywhere, I called my LL and told him that I am not paying rent because 1) you or your insurance company is not providing me an alternate accommodation 2) There is a clause in my tenancy agreement - (4.2) the Landlord will return to the Tenant any rent payable for any period during which the Property may have been rendered uninhabitable by fire or any other risk which the Landlord has insured on 25th of Jan I vacated guest house and went to my friend's place, I needed accommodation for another 3 weeks as new house that I found was not available before 12 th Feb, 2011. After lot of discussion with my spouse we decided to go back to same old flat and started living in living room (rest of 2 bedrooms were uninhabitable), we are a couple and 2 children (4.5 years and 8 months) as we found it extremely difficult to live anywhere else because of access to kitchen and kids were not adjusting well. Before moving back I informed my LL as well as his insurance well in advance that please please arrange some alternative accommodation or else I may move back. I thought of moving to a hotel but by that time I already spent good amount money for initial accommodation, packing , moving , taking time off from work etc that I did not want more financial exposure. There are two problems here – 1. My landlord expects me to pay full rent for last 3 weeks, though I was not able to make full use of property, moreover I moved to flat because I did not have any other option left. Agency claims that insurance was ready to accommodate me till 12th of Feb but that was not true as I have emails communication from them, basically either agency is lying or LL misguided him, I have written proof of it in form of emails, which I provided to agency and he kind of agreed on phone that LL should pay me all deposit back in such case. 2. My landlord/agency never protected my deposit till 4 months after I paid it to agency, who then paid it to landlord. I chased them after 4 months and they said they will do it but I never got nay kind of communication from them and I checked with all deposit schemes and it is not protected anywhere. Agency is not ready to help me; they initially said I should get back my deposit in full and now asking me to speak to landlord directly. Please suggest, is it worth going to court, if yes are they two separate issues? My tenancy has already ended on 14th feb, LL has not paid me deposit back as we have not been able to agree to how much he should return, I even offered him to keep i/3 of rent just to close this matter but he wants to take full rent. I did not mention other problems like issues in contacting LL etc and no reply from him as they can not be proved in court. I also visited CAB today and lawyer suggested me to file a court case for not protecting deposit. Thanks in advance

I started an AST via a letting agent on 11/12/2009 to 10/12/2010. I paid a £600 deposit. In november 2010 I recieved notice that the flat i was renting would be repossessed on 7/12/2010 as the landlord had not kept up with the mortgage payments. I spoke to the letting agent and agreed to move out at the end of my tenancy agreement. I moved out and handed the keys back to the letting agent and they completed the final inspection. They confirmed that my deposit would be returned to me in full without deductions and that their manager would be in touch with how I make a claim for my deposit. I then recieved an email saying the letting agent had gone into liquidation in June 2010. They said that my deposit had been held in their client money account, and the bank the account was held with has illegally (or so they say) used this account in the liquidation so they were having to take said bank to court to recover that account and the monies held in that account so they would not be able to return my deposit. They advised they held client money protection insurance with NALS (National Approved Lettings Scheme) so I would have to claim my deposit back from them. I asked about claiming it back via the TDS and they said that due to the liquidation the deposit was no longer protected by them as of 1/9/2010. The Letting agent continued to trade under a new name and continued to be my letting agent. They did not advise me of the liquidation or the name change, only that they had moved offices. They did not advise that my deposit was no longer covered and neither did TDS. They did not, as my 'new' letting agent reprotect my deposit. So from September 2010 to December 2010 my deposit was not covered. I have made a claim with NALS but am yet to discover if anyone has sucessfully claimed anything back from them and they are unable to advise how long this claim will take. My letting agent have completed washed their hands of responsibility and say I must deal with NALS from now on. Can I take the LA to small claims on the fact that they did not protect my deposit? Or would I have to go direct to the Landlord himself? Any advice if greatly appreciated

Here's my story: My partner and i lived in our last apt for 2 years, and we moved out August 2010. Previous to that we lived in a smaller apt owned by the same landlord for 9months. Our deposit on the smaller apt was £450, and when we moved to a bigger apt, we paid an extra £150 to make the deposit £600. When we moved out of our apt, the Landlords' Dad (who lived accross the road and dealt with any problems tennants had) came to inspect and said that the condition was fine, and i handed him back the keys. We never heard anything about the return of our deposit for a month so contacted the Landlords' Dad (as we never had a contact number for our Landlord) who said he'd ask his son to get in touch with us. We recieved a letter stating that he had deducted money for re-decorating and for boiler repair!! Once we recieved this we sent him a letter asking for details of which Tennancy Deposit Scheme he had used (so we could dispute these deductions) and he replied stating that it was not in one as the tennancy pre-dated the law coming in to force. We replied stating the dates of our tennancy did fall in to this Law coming in to force and had no reply. We sent another letter again stating that it was a legal requirement to put it one of the TDS's and again had no reply. At this point we spoke to a solicitor who sent a letter on our behalf asking for the deposit within 7 days. 9 days later we recieved a letter with a cheque for the deposit MINUS the deductions (which had been pre-dated to the month before even tho the postal mark said the day before we recieved it) and again saying that the deposit was not in a scheme and he would have to "look in the archives to find out why". As we now know that our deposit is not in a scheme we want to persue getting the 3x deposit back as well as our full deposit, however when i spoke to someone at Shelter, they told me it may not be successful as there is a case ongoing (Tiensia services v Vision enterprise) that could change the outcome for other future claims? Can anyone give me advice on what to do? I've searched the internet all day for some help and rang a few people. We dont have the money to waste on court fees if it's not going to be successful. Thanking you in advance

I'm renting a room under an Assured Shorthold Tennancy from a non-resident landlord. I've contacted all three deposit protection schemes and verified that my deposit is not protected and my landlord seems totally unwilling to place the money into a scheme so I want to take him to court. I'm pretty sure that my case is rock solid but would like to know whether I can start paying my rent into an escrow account as my landlord is being pursued by bailiffs and i think it's highly unlikely that I will ever get my deposit / court fees etc back if I don't. I'm also a little hazy as to what an escrow is and whether it's the right instrument in this case. Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks.

I started renting a property in London in June 2009 and left it in June 2010 in immaculate condition. The landlord was an absolute nightmare during our tenancy (letting himself into our appartment without notification, refusing to get anything fixed unless threathened by legal action) and at the end of our tenancy in June 2010 he claimed 85% of our deposit to re-paint the whole appartment and change the bathtub (for a 1cm chip that was there when we moved in but not marked on the flawed inventory that we refused to sign from the start) amongst other ridiculous claims. Our deposit is sitting with the deposit protection scheme so as soon as we received the claim from our landlord and it became obvious it was non-negotiable, we took it up with the TDS. The landlord dragged it for as long as he could before refusing the dispute and saying he would make a case with the small claims court against us. He has indeed done so 4 months ago but we are now told by the court that he has failed to send his questionnaire through, meaning we are still without a court date. This landlord has a history of doing this, it is obviously not for personal gain (since he does not hold the money) but for the sheer pleasure of maniuplation. Can I make a counter claim with the small claim court or send it back to the TDS? Can I sue him for interest on this? If so, what interest rate would apply? Is there anything I can do to prevent other tenants to suffer from this in the future? There are a couple of his previous tenants who would be willing to join forces to prevent him from ever being able to be a landlord again... Any help would be greatly appreciated!

My query is whether my landlord is obliged to bring (6 week tenancy) deposit in TDS. If so how that should it be administered and what implications if he won't? How will I know he has? NB. very recently he has indicated that he wishes to take back house (probably sell it) but hasn't served notice yet. Background: Sep 2007: 2 year private tenancy agreement with private landlord (rental £42k pa, promptly payed monthly) Sep 2007: 6wk deposit paid into acct of landlord. Landlord did not wished to pay for and therefore no inventarisation was made. Since Sep 2009: tenancy has been rolling over. While my contract was not an Assured Shorthold Tenancy, I understand (from estate agency) that from 1st October it should be eligible as rent is considerably below £100k pa. Would the fact that contract is rolling over exclude it? If we find a new home, do we need to give notice and assuming so, what would be notice period? one month? Given LL has been dragging his feed for past 3 years about repairs, spending any money on maintenance (it took 2 yrs to repair leaks and other repairs), I am concerned that he will withhold a considerable part of the deposit (neighbours claim that he unreasonably did so with tenants before us), whart steps should I take to ensure full return of deposit. It should be noted that we have looked immaculately after this house (as if our own). There is is just wear and tear (carpets) and cracks in paint which are structural. In advance thanks for any advice or suggestions.

Today I went to court to defend a Accelerated Possession claim from my Landlord (LL). The Section 21 Notice was, the LL claims posted under my door, even though that is impossible due to size of gap. the Judge believed LL not me, even though the LL could not remember what was in the envelope. Judge called in a witness who swore on oath that he (a friend of LL) saw the Section 8 & Section 21 go into the envelope and then under the door, the witness was not asked to prove who he was in the courtroom, no ID, he just walked in swore on oath said his piece and sat down, he could have been anyone, no one checked! My deposit was paid May 2005 and renewed June 2008 with the original deposit, the LL applied to protect the deposit in January 2010 some 18 months late, The original Certificate was never seen or signed by myself. It has false information on and I had a letter from mydeposits.co.uk who confirmed the protection was invaid as it was applied for outside of the fixed term of 6 months of the AST. . The Judge gave the LL possession and made the decision based on those incorrect false information. The Judge was told 2 or 3 times the information was incorrect and the papers to prove my defence were in front of the Judge. My solicitor informed the Judge the information was incorrect therefore invalid the Judge said that she accepted that the information was incorrect but the LL had made some provision to try to protect the deposit, (even though it was invalid and false) The Judge gave LL the possession order!!! I have no faith in the UK Judicial System it is a con, I had so much evidence in my defence with regard the TDS but the Judge followed the lies and false incorrect information ot determine the Order! I have asked the Court for a transcript of the hearing. I have made a complaint about the Judge at engine search judicial complaints UK I have written to my MP (an ex lawyer) I am aware they all stick together and who is going t take on a Judge for a complaint???? Can I afford to take this to Appeal? Of course not , they know poor people wont get legal aid so they treat them like this! (Im on JSA) Judges are not exempt they are not higher than teh law they do not create teh law they make decisions based on fact and truth..unless your the Judge I had! The Court should be a place of truth and justice!

Hi Have trawled through the threads but finding a situation like mine is proving hard. I'll be as brief as I can - any advice much appreciated. Moved into rented property with housemate in May 2007. Agency showed us around and took our deposit but LL has handled everything else (all communications etc). Deposit was put straight into a TDS. 6 months later it was not protected by the scheme anymore and remained unprotected in any scheme for remainder of our tenancy. Problems occured during tenancy regarding upkeep of property (leaking roofs, doors, faulty kitchen white goods etc) which LL either took a long time to solve or did not solve at all. Several letters were exchanged - LL accused us of not keeping property up to scratch, we responded strongly stating our viewpoint which is that we were not in the wrong. Upon exit from property (Jan 2010), we had property professionally cleaned, a carpet replaced and an arrangement with the council to remove large amount of rubbish and old carpet from outside property. LL wrote to us enclosing a cheque for our deposit having deducted approx £220 (on total deposit of approx £1100) claiming house was not cleaned, rubbish was not collected and several other things all of which were unfair/untrue. We have receipts for cleaning, reference number from the council for rubbish collection and recorded delivery receipts for all letters we have ever sent to her some of which she responded to, some which she did not - many issues she did not resolve. With no TDS to intervene, we wrote stating we disputed LL's claims and wanted our full deposit back. We did not hear back. Approx 5 months later (having done some research), we wrote again stating that as we had not heard back, we would pursue the matter in the small claims court. LL wrote back re-iterating reasons for taking money off the deposit and adding new issues with the state of the house when we left (mainly petty) but also included some utter lies about things we had said or done and also included photos - some of which showed contents of the rubbish bags we'd left outside, emptied inside the house(!!!!). LL claimed to be disappointed that we had threatened the small claims court and threatened to "counter sue" us for loss of earnings because we had not allowed the agent to show people around in the last 2 months of tenancy (simply not true!) and the state of the house when we left. Issued the claim via moneyclaim and then housemate (not me - whose name the claim is in) received a phonecall from the *agency* (as opposed to the LL) who offered to pay us the difference so that we could have our full deposit back on the condition we put it in writing that the matter is over. Requested that they put this proposal in writing to us but they refused. Have since heard nothing and now about to pursue the claim with moneyclaim - as the 14 days have elapsed (it's actually about a month now). What I want to know is what chance we have of a)claiming our full deposit back (and the court fee) and b)of claiming the 3x deposit penalty from the LL As far as I was concerned, we have a good case- however, having read this forum and much earlier posts, I am concerned that as I am not living in the property any longer, this could affect things. I would appreciate any advice. Many thanks Blag

Hi, New here but have read some great advice so far. Our previous landlord has not yet returned our security deposit, but we are close to receiving this. The main sticking point I have is a deduction they are calculating for gas usage. The flat we rented didn't have a gas meter. We never received a gas bill, but they say we owe them money for gas. They are due to get back to us on Monday with the amount we owe. I have only the following to go on as to how they plan to calculate this amount: - The flat next door had a gas meter which measures usage of both flats. - There was also a sub-meter in the flat next door which measure gas usage to our flat. - They plan to use these two meters to calculate our usage. Now, I have no idea whether any of this is legal, but it definitely sounds wrong to me. I have no idea how they will measure the meter readings of both said meters. We moved out over 6 months ago, and never saw either meter as they were in the flat next door. As we have been pushing for the deposit for some time, it turns out that the deposit was never protected. In my understanding, they have breached the law here. Not only this, but in order to charge us for what they think we have used in gas - they should apply to TDS to claim this, and then they would have to ropovide evidence of what we owe would they not? I wrote to them last week giving them 7 days to either repay our deposit in full, and/or provide me with evidence that they have secured our deposit. They have since been in touch and advised that they have been gathering paperwork on the gas payment, and will post this to us on monday. My questions are: - Can they charge us for gas, if we never had a bill/meter or meter readings at the start and end of tenancy? - If they can, how can they resaonably calculate this? - If they can, is this not a moot point by the fact that they have not secured our deposit? - Should I make a claim to the small claims court for the full amount claiming I feel it's unfair to pay for the gas without evidence to state exactly how much we used? - Should I take this further, ie the 3x amount? I'm completely pi$$ed off with them for dragging this out. And think they are being a bit daft in even trying to charge us for this payment, when they have clearly broken the law. Any/all advice welcome. Thanks, KJPM.

I decided to make a separate thread for the deposit issue (my other thread was more about the landlords property being in the garage) The house I am currently living in was let to me through an agent, they had been managing the property for the landlord at least through the previous tennancy, and I paid my deposit to them on 21/05/2010. I moved into the property on 01/07/2010 and within a week of being there (I'm unsure of the exact date) I was informed by the agent that the landlord was moving back into the area and was assuming responsibility for the property again. After having problems with the landlord dragging his feet over removing his property from the garage I found myself at these forums and read up on what they should have done with the deposit, until this point I had not really thought about it. I checked with the agents yesterday (13/08/2010) and they said they had passed on the deposit to the landlord, they did not give a date when this happened, but also told me that he had requested information from them about myself in order to be able to put the deposit into a scheme. I checked with the 3 schemes that are avaliable and non of them have any record of a deposit being registered for my address. The question I have is: who is responsible for the deposit being put into a scheme, as I paid it to the agent on 21st may, as they were managing the property at the time, should they have put it into an account and informed me before 4th June? Due to the way in which I leased the house from the agent I also currently have no address for my landlord, will I need his address if I need to take the matter to court or can I quote the agencies address as they were responsible for managing the property, and took the deposit from me? I am quite worried about this as I also have numerous letters addressed to the landlord from Baliffs/collection agencies/banks/inland revenue (judging from the return addresses, I have not opened any) and a brief check of his records on companies house indicate he has been involved in at least one dissolved company, nothing conclusive..but erring on the paranoid side one might guess he has some financial troubles! In which case if my deposit is not protected it may be hard to recover when we leave. Thanks for the help