not protected with deposit scheme ware do i stand please .

[emasch]

hi i signed a 6 month tenancy agreement ,£800 a month im on benafets with disabled husband and 4 children ,housing would only pay 530 a month for me .when we moved in we signed adisclamer as landlord had no gas electric certificate we signed on the agreement this would be done on the 1 october ,this has still not been done ,on the 20 october our hot water and heating was switched off as there was a majoure falf with boiler this has now been replaced on the 10 november ,3 weeks with out hot water and heating,we have mold in our room next to kitchen of wich we have reported also in toilet in same room we have also had leaks with water ,we contacted landlord of whome said its because its old part of house but still no repair.we have had bath and sink leak we ended up reparing water was coming through our kitchen lights this has still not been looked at.electrision did come out said loads af repars needs to be done still nothing we moved in 13 sep 08,im moving out as cant afford rent i move out 18 tuesday,

landlady said this is fine but now saying im not having deposit back also they apparentlly registred with dps but not paid it in as they said they were worried about rent not being paid on time in october she signed a agreement with me about tenancy sayingthis would be put in dps after 14 days but nothing what do i do now have they broke contract due to probs with house rent etc or am i this first to break it by moving out?this is really getting me down please help x

[help me kick his butt]

Hi, sounds like you are in a pcikle.

Phone the DPS find out if your deposit is registered.

then post back here and we can go from there.

3 weeks without hot water or heating is unacceptable and you must be compensated.

It would have been a good idea to have involved enviromental health, they would have helped.

If your deposit is not held in DPS then I would suggest to your Landlady that she repay your deposit immediatly or you will take her to small claims court for non compliance of TDS and will sue her for 3 x your deposit.

Hope this helps.x

[emasch]

hi i have just recived a email stating she put it in dps today but takes 3 working days to take place 2 months late,

by then i would of moved out due to mold ect

also there is no fire alarms in whole of house .woodworm in flooring this is driving me insain x

[help me kick his butt]

well, i would suggest to your LL that she should have protected your deposit within 14 days of receiving the money and tell her that you intend to persue this matter through the small claims court especially as she has not carried out her obligation with the safety checks.

I would strongly urge you to tke photographic evidence that there is no smoke alarms and of any other problems, if you can.

This sounds like a real rogue LL who does not seem too bothered with the safety and comfort of her tenants. Dont let her pull the wool over your eyes.

If you are on benefits you should be able to apply for legal aid, then you can let a solicitor deal with this mess for you. I feel very sorry for you, you sound like you have your hads full and could do without all this hassle.

Good luck and keep us all posted

[Aequitas]

The disclaimer means nothing. The landlady must provide a gas saftety certificate - failure to do so is a criminal offence. Tell the landlady this.

 

If the damp, mould and other problems are serious get in touch with the environmental health department of your local council.

 

There is no legal requirement to fit fire alarms.

 

Breaking the agreement is risky. There comes a point when you may be able to call it a day, but the problems have to be very serious and you have to have given the landlady a reasonable opportunity to put matters right.

 

Failure to put the deposit into a scheme because she fears you may not pay the rent is a total non-starter. What does she think the scheme is for?

[help me kick his butt]

Not wishing to sound argumentative but, I had the fire brigade out to my last rented property as we had a chimney fire. The fire Officer stated that all rented houses should have battery operated smoke alarms on each landing level of the stairs ,all new builds should have mains operated smoke alarms, going to have a quick look into this, maybe he was wrong ?

[MrShed]

Perhaps for HMOs HMKHB, but not general rented property. In addition, if the deposit is now protected, then there can be no persuit for breach of HA 2004 that is successful. Finally, I fully agree with Aequitas in so much that breaking the agreement should NOT be done unilaterally unless there is a threat to human habitation conditions - the list above does not constitute this IMO.