Return of deposit - ADR and small claims?

[azucar]

Hi

 

I was wondering is someone might be able to give me some advice about our landlord's failure to provide us with the prescribed information and them seeking to deduct £100 from our deposit which is held with DPS.

 

I will try to keep this brief. My partner and I rented a property from private landlords. We had an assured shorthold tenancy. 3 weeks before the tenancy was due to expire, they gave us notice to leave at the end of the tenancy as they wanted to sell the property. We pointed out they had to give 2 months notice, they didn't provie a full 2 months and didn't give us proper notice but we let it slip as we didn't want the hassle and just wanted to leave.

 

We left 10 days ago. The landlords mum completed the inventory. She noticed a dent at the bottom of the washing machine. We wrote to the LL after we left to confirm we think the dent has always been there. They said they are going to deduct £100 for the dent and everything else was in order.

 

We disputed this - it is wear and tear and has not affected the working order of the machine. They told us they are seeking to sell the machine and will make a loss. Whilst doing some research, it came to our attention that we've not been provided with the prescribed information relating to our deposit. We wrote to the LL accordingly. They ignored us. We chased, they've come back and said if we agree to them taking £100 they will release the remainder of our deposit. We wrote to them again clearly explaining that failure to provide the prescribed information is failure to comply with the law and we are entitled to seek the return of our deposit in full and 1-3 times compensation. They have now responded saying they have released all but £100 of our deposit and have requested ADR through DPS.

 

My question is - can I send a letter before action and accept ADR at the same time? I am intending to say if they give us the remaining £100 then we will not take further legal action but I don't want to end up in a sitution where I start ADR and can't seek legal redress for their failure to provide the prescribed information.

 

Sorry that was much longer than intended. Any advice would be greatly welcomed!

[mariner51]

I would wait for ADR decision, onus is on LL to prove dent not present at start of T and that £100 is a reasonable claim.

As LL had protected deposit, only failed to provide PI, then Judge (his discretion) may only order your deposit return, less any counterclaim for T damage ie where you are at moment.

[Steve__M]

I would wait for ADR decision, onus is on LL to prove dent not present at start of T and that £100 is a reasonable claim.

As LL had protected deposit, only failed to provide PI, then Judge (his discretion) may only order your deposit return, less any counterclaim for T damage ie where you are at moment.

 

Surely failure to supply PI is grounds for judge awarding 1-3x deposit?

 

Otherwise, ADR should be able to proceed. They need evidence of the dent and of the damages. Do you know the make and age of the washing machine? Can you find a similar one for sale elsewhere?

 

I recently bought a new washing machine which arrived with a big scratch, so evidence of newness is not evidence of no dent.

[raydetinu]

It would appear that judges ( opinions vary ) do not fully implement the revised housing act rules as written in the statue again, so I would not expect them to fully compensate you.

However no reason why you should not add that to your claim and see what happens, if you do decide to go to court.

You can start the process while still using ADR.