Leasing agency with holding deposit.

[phil_m]

I moved out of a property I had been renting for 18 months on 25/08/06. An inspection was then carried out and it was reported that cleaners were required to clean. The report mentioned very petty things such as mark on radiator, mark on door, and so on and so on. I was very suprised at this as myself and my girlfriend had spent alot of time cleaning before we moved out!

I am still waiting for my deposit to be paid back to me. I have been intouch with the leasing agency on many occasion and they have informed me that they are still waiting for the invoice from the cleaning company.

A friend of mine has told me that a deposit must be legally returned within 28 days of the keys being returned if not then the ex-tennant is entitiled to the full ammount of the deposit. Can anyone tell me if this is the case or not.

Cheers, Phil.

[Paul_f]

I and others have posted huge amounts of stuff on this and it is such an often posted question that you should really have a look at the archived stuff on this.

You need to look at your inventory too as the landlord has to prove matters, not you disprove them, and if you haven't signed one he doesn't have a hope! Most inventories are not that good. If you need to take the landlord to court (not the agent as they have no legal connection with you, and are NOT entitled to decide on the apportionment of the deposit's return) then do so. Either the landlord directs the agent as to what he wants to retain or you and the landlord jointly have to agree before any deposit it returned depending on how it is held. If you can't agree then the court must decide and tenants usually win if the inventory is poor.

Have a look at my article accessed from the home page on "deposits & their status". I wrote it at least three years ago and it probably needs an update but it tells you the meaning of stakeholder and landlord's agent as the two ways in which it can be held.