Landlord accepted surrender but deposit unprotected

[Derrick]

Hi

I wonder if any of you can help.

My girlfriends flat was badly affected by water ingress, damp and mould so much so that there was water dripping onto electric plug sockets and the fuse box. An electrician called by the managing agents declared it a fire risk let alone how the damp/mould was affecting her asthma.

After a month of the landlord promising to rectify but doing nothing, she surrendered her lease which was accepted, even though she was living with me for that month as her doctor had advised her stricly not to be in a damp environment as it would worsen her condition.

she has later found that the landlord has not protected her deposit and is claiming a missing months rent somewhere in her last 12 months. she has put forward evidence to counter this however it appears the managing agents are feeding the landlord false information.

although she has been at the property for 4 years she has renewed her ast each year and the current contract states her deposit is being protected by the dps. (it is not being protected by any of the 3 schemes)

she has been incredibly patient and in my view too polite...she even found the landlord a new tenant so he didn't have to re-market the flat once the damp and mould had been sorted.

can anyone offer some advice on what to do?

many thanks

derrick

[mind the gap]

Hi

I wonder if any of you can help.

My girlfriends flat was badly affected by water ingress, damp and mould so much so that there was water dripping onto electric plug sockets and the fuse box. An electrician called by the managing agents declared it a fire risk let alone how the damp/mould was affecting her asthma.

After a month of the landlord promising to rectify but doing nothing, she surrendered her lease which was accepted, even though she was living with me for that month as her doctor had advised her stricly not to be in a damp environment as it would worsen her condition.

she has later found that the landlord has not protected her deposit and is claiming a missing months rent somewhere in her last 12 months. she has put forward evidence to counter this however it appears the managing agents are feeding the landlord false information.

although she has been at the property for 4 years she has renewed her ast each year and the current contract states her deposit is being protected by the dps. (it is not being protected by any of the 3 schemes)

she has been incredibly patient and in my view too polite...she even found the landlord a new tenant so he didn't have to re-market the flat once the damp and mould had been sorted.

can anyone offer some advice on what to do?

many thanks

derrick

LL should have protected it within 14 days of the first AST renewal after April 2007, and supplied her with details of the scheme used. Then he should have returned it to her within 10 days of end of tenancy or notified her that he was disputing its return and applying for adjudication/arbitration via the scheme.

She should send the landlord a simple Letter Before Action (headed as such), asking for the full return of her deposit within 7 days, otherwise she will sue him for three times the deposit amount as he has failed in his legal obligation under the 2004 Housing Act, to protect it.

At this stage I would not mention the month's missing rent unless she has clear evidence that she has in fact paid it. If she does owe a month's rent and LL chooses to counterclaim, she may have to pay it, although if she can provide medical and other evidence (e.g. from Envionmental Health) that flat was a risk to health, a court may be sympathetic and not enforce it - I'm not sure.

[Derrick]

thanks very much for your advice

d