Tenant did not pay deposit and now claiming they did

[fhearty1]

Hi,

I have recently applied for possession of my property and received a letter from the judge saying that i have a hearing date in 2 weeks.

It also says that the tenant claims to have paid a deposit of £950, whereas she did not pay any deposit at all. What can I do to prove this as I do not want to fork out £950 for nothing?

Thank you for your help in advance!

[MSaxp]

in this case the tenant will have to prove they did pay. There is no way to prove they didnt.

Is a deposit mentioned in the tenancy agreement? Do they have any paperwork that mentions a deposit? If they have been in the property for N months, is what they have paid N x Rent exactly?

[fhearty1]

on the first agreement, it says deposit but the amount is left blank. in the latest agreement (from feb 2012), the deposit amount says £1000 but in the back it states that the deposit has not yet been paid by the tenant.

The rent is supposed to be £1000 a month from the agreement but the tenant has been payin £950 since 17/8/2011.

[Alexlandlord]

It looks like the evidence you have confirms deposit not paid, burden of proof on tenant to prove they have paid .

[westminster]

It also says that the tenant claims to have paid a deposit of £950, whereas she did not pay any deposit at all. What can I do to prove this as I do not want to fork out £950 for nothing?

I assume this is a s.21 possession claim?

You will not be ordered to pay the T anything at a s.21 possession hearing. The issue of a deposit is relevant because, if the T had paid a deposit, and you had not protected the deposit, then your s.21 notice would not be valid.

in the latest agreement (from feb 2012), the deposit amount says £1000 but in the back it states that the deposit has not yet been paid by the tenant.

The T will need to produce evidence of the payment.

The rent is supposed to be £1000 a month from the agreement but the tenant has been payin £950 since 17/8/2011.

Then the T owes you around £900.

[fhearty1]

Yes its a s.21 possession claim. The court hearing is in 2 days and I've never done this before so a little anxious.

I just wanted to ask; should I present my view in writing to the judge or simply verbally on the day (or both)?

[thesaint]

If the hearing is in 2 days, then it is too late to submit your case in writing.

Have a rent statement with all the payments made clearly showing(especially at the beginning of the tenancy).
Take 3 copies so that you can present one to the judge, and the tenant.