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Welcome to the questions and answers section of Landlord-Law
Here Tessa answers questions sent to her by readers (both members and non members). Only ten questions and their answers are displayed at any one time - the others can be viewed by members only by following the link to 'old Q and A' at the bottom of the page.
Please note that when viewing old questions and answers, the date of the answer is important - be careful with old answers as the law may have changed since the answer was given.
Apologies to those who have submitted questions which have not been answered. We cannot answer them all ...
Question: I have just recently moved out of my student let after a years tenancy, my landlord refuses to answer an questions regarding which protection scheme was used, which leads me to believe my deposit was not protected, if this is the case am I entitled to claim compensation, even if some of the deposit is returned and how would I go about claiming the 3x deposit? Anon
Answer: You should first check to see whether the deposit was actually protected and if not complete the application form on www.tenancydepositclaim.com for our no win ne fee service for tenancy depsit claims. Note that the site gives the telephone numbers for all three tenancy deposit services to enable you to contact them. 25 July 2010
Question: If you take a deposit and it comes under a Common Law Tenancy does the deposit have to be covered by a Tenancy Deposit Scheme? Simon
Answer: No. The scheme only covers assured shorthold tenancies. However note that deposits paid for high rent tenancies will have to be protected by 1 October 2010 as the rent limit for ASTs will be going up to £100,00 at that time. 25 July 2010
Question: Last year a couple rented my property, however now they have split up and the guy who has moved out is asking for his half of the deposit paid. (1 months rent). She is staying on in the property. Am I legally obliged to give him half the deposit back and if so I presume she will have to pay us the half we paid out to him? Mr C Harryson
Answer: As you have not obtained vacant possession of the property you are not bound to return the deposit. If the person who has moved out wishes his half of the deposit paid back now he will have to get this off remaining tenant (she will then get paid the whole of the deposit when she moves out). However have a word with your tenancy deposit scheme helpline, as you may need to formally notify them if there is a change in the tenants at the property. 25 July 2010
Question: We have rented a property for two years and have recently moved out. Our landlady is refusing to return our £900 deposit based on the flat being damp. This is a period property so the structural problems should not be our responsibility surely? Furthermore, there is a cream carpet in the property which we have had cleaned, so there are no stains, but she is still insisting on a new one - is a certain amount of wear and tear allowed? And finally a window has a small crack, which we alerted her to last year when we noticed this. She said she would replace at the time, but now we have moved out she is insisting that we report this with the police to get a crime ref no. - which seems absurd so late on. Can you let me know whether it is worth taking this to the small claims court? Anon
Answer: Your should contact the tenancy deposit company which is protecting your deposit and ask that the landlords claim be referred to the scheme arbitration scheme. If your landlord has not protected your deposit, visit www.tenancydepositclaim.com and apply for our no win no fee tenancy deposit claim service. 25 July 2010
Question: I am breaking a 12 month tenancy agreement which ends on 5th November, by moving out on July 31st. The flat has been advertised through the landlords estate agent (paid for by me), however the landlord has found a friend of his to move in, and without telling us accepted their proposed move in date of 1st September - one month after our move out date. He expects us to pay for the additional month despite stopping advertising the flat even though we had booked viewings, and without consulting us before accepting the new tenants offer. Do we have a right not to pay? Anon
Answer: Probably not. It is up to the landlord who he has in the property as tenant. You don’t really have any say in the matter. If you are able to prove that you had found a tenant who would have been suitable and who would have moved in earlier than 1 September, you may possibly have a defence to any court claim for the August rent, but I think you would have a very uphill task with this and there is a strong probability you would not succeed. You may also have a claim if you incurred advertising costs after your landlord had accepted his friend as a tenant. However on the bright side, if no replacement tenant had been found, you would have been responsible for the rent up to 5 November. 25 July 2010
Question: I'm a tenant living in a property that you are unable to shower, bath, wash your hands or even use the toilet. My letting agents keep dismissing the issue and I've had to try and sort the problem out myself through the council, plumbers, the water board, landlord etc... As its been like this for over 2 weeks and my partner is 3 months pregnant, surely laws are being broken, compensation should be owed or at least I should allowed to hold rent because we cant stay there and are having to stay with friends and family. PLEASE help were on the brink. Thank you K. Evans of Chichester. ,/p>
Answer: I am very surprised that the Council cannot help you as my usual advise would be to speak to the Housing Officer at your Local Authority. The things you mention are all basic amenities which should be provided in all rented property. If you have only just moved in, you may be entitled to end the tenancy on the basis that it is not fit for human habitation. This right is only available to new tenants of furnished property. Otherwise you will probably have a claim against your landlord under the tenants repairing covenants. The claim would be for an injunction to get the work done and compensation. You would need to get legal help for this, however some solicitors may be prepared to offer you a no win no fee agreement. You could also withhold rent, but if you do this it is very important that you do not spend it but put it into a separate interest bearing bank account and kept to abide the event. 25 July 2010
Question: I let my furnished house for 1 year while i travelled to Australia. at the end of the year the house and contents were damaged stolen or destroyed. The agent refunded the tenants full deposit and continues to ignore my complaint. The ombudsman was unable to help as agent not affiliated to any assoc. Please advise. Mrs B, Hertfordshire
Answer; Assuming you are able to prove that the damage was done by the tenants, it sounds to me as if you will have a claim against your agents for the deposit money which they wrongfully returned to the tenants. You can probably bring this via the Money Claim Online service but you should obtain some guidance from a solicitor before you do this. Many solicitors will offer an initial free or fixed fee advice interview. Note that if you know where the tenants have gone to (and assuming they have any assets) you will also have a (much better) claim against them. 25 July 2010
Question: I am renting on a STA and initially on a 6 month agreement and then continued on a rolling monthly basis. We have now been in the property for nearly 18 months. We have been issued with a Section 21 notice giving us 2 months notice of the Landlord's intention to move back in to the property himself. We have found an alternative rental property and would like to give 1 months notice which would end before the 2 month's notice given by the landlord. Is this in order or can he make us stay until his given notice period expires? Mrs Stanley of West Sussex
Answer: If you have a monthly periodic tenancy, you can give one months notice to leave. This should end at the end of a rental period so will actually be between one and two months depending on when in the month it is served. 25 July 2010
Question: I have recently served a Section 8 notice on my tenants for being over 2 months in arrears. My tenant stopped paying rent when he split up with his wife. He has left his wife and 3 young children in the house. Can I still get a CCJ on him while his estranged wife (with whom he is in contact) is in the house? Or do I have to find out where he currently lives (probably renting a room close to where he works). Unfortunately I do not know where he works as he also recently changed jobs. Any advice appreciated. JT, Cambridgeshire
Answer: As the husband’s name is still on the tenancy agreement he should be included in any claim for possession using ground 8. As part of your order you will get a CCJ which will be enforceable against him. You will find out more about obtaining a possession order under ground 8 with our do it yourself kit 5. Note that if you ever needed to serve the husband specifically you could probably do this by way of substituted service on his wife. 25 July 2010
Question: My landlord moved me out so they could underpin and do a rebuild on the house, 6 mths on I’m still not back in my house, they haven’t done the work they promised, and basically just patched it up. I feel the 3 yrs id fought it, was a waste of time. Miss Voce, Liverpool
Answer: If your landlord has moved you out on the basis that he will be doing repairs, but has not done them and is refusing to let you back in, you should take legal advice as you may have a claim for unlawful eviction. For example see the cases reported on my Landlord Law Blog >> here. 25 July 2010
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