Landlord not responding to communications regarding the return of the deposit

[mza]

My contract is an AST. The tenancy started on 30/09/2013 and ended on 29/09/2014 as per contract. 2160 pounds paid as deposit at the beginning. An inventory report was apparently taken at the beginning of the tenancy, however it was not signed by me and was not provided to me until 25 days after my move in date. The deposit is held on a TDS. Now to my problems:

 

The contract specifies that " The agent must tell the tenants within 10 working days of the end of the tenancy if they propose to make any deductions from the deposit". The 10 working days deadline has obviously passed but I have not heard back from the agent nor the landlord. I finally managed to get in touch with the agent on Friday 24th of October and was only told that he is waiting for instructions from the landlord and he neglected to answer my question regarding them being in breach of contract.

 

1) Are they legally still allowed to make any deductions to my deposit considering the deadline for doing so is passed?

 

2) My communications are through scanned letters emailed to the agent and phone calls to their office. Are these sufficient enough should the issue come to any legal actions?

 

3) What is the penalty for breaching this term of the agreement?

 

Another point here is that according to the contract " if the tenant intends to dispute any of the deductions, should inform the agent in writing within 30 days after the termination of the tenancy. Failure to comply with this time limit is a breach as rule of TDS".

 

4) What action should I take now considering how they are not giving me any sufficient information, time frames etc? Deadline for my possible dispute is on 29th of October.

 

And the last point of my inquiry is regarding the inventory check in/check out reports. As I mentioned an Inventory check in report was provided to me 25 days after the start of my tenancy and I was never asked to sign it. Per contract, a check out report was also taken that was paid by me and was arranged through the agency. The quality of these two reports are incomparable! The check in report rarely mentions any details and does not include any photos while the check out report is stating every single bit of deficiency and includes loads of photos and the smallest details.

 

5) Is this a valid basis of argument for any possible dispute?

 

6) Can I deny the applicability of the check in report considering everything I just mentioned?

 

Your input is very much appreciated. I apologies if this is too wordy.

Edited October 26, 2014 by mza
correcting the date

[The Carpet Cleaners]

The first thing that you should do is deal direct with the TDS and submit a claim for your full deposit return. It is nothing to do with the agent, it is your money. Once you have submitted your request for the full return, the Landlord then has a set amount of time to agree or disagree with your request. If there is nothing heard from the Landlord by the TDS after this time, you can then ask for a full unopposed return of the deposit.

 

I am sure that other people will comment on the inventory side of things, but I hope you took lots of photo's yourself of the condition when you moved in and when you moved out.

[rebel11]

Hi mza

 

Welcome to CAG

 

The guys will advise as soon as they are available, in the meantime, heres some information:-

 

http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/tenancy_deposits

 

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/problem/my-landlord-wont-return-my-security-deposit-what-can-i-do

 

Don't speak to them over the phone, everything in writing, send letters Recorded Delivery.

[raydetinu]

As CC says contact TDS and let them know you have moved out, then up to LL to claim for any deductions that are fair and take wear and tear into account.

If you disagree then you can use their dispute procedure or take LL to court.

Any amount not in dispute must be returned in 14 days.

[mza]

I really appreciate all of your responds.

 

When I enter the certificate code the only option that comes up is to raise a dispute. Is this what I should do to inform them I've left the property? I'm sorry if this is a very dumb question.

[mariner51]

Put full deposit in dispute with TDS to prevent LL making a single claim on a lodged deposit.

If it is in Ins based scheme the LL will have to pay in disputed amount for ADR resolution.

LL can decline ADR, leaving you with SCC option.