Other side of the coin - dodgy landlords!

Other

Having been in the letting business many years I am pretty clear on procedure and try to do things properly ( I think it makes business sense anyway ). My daughter recently rented a room in a flat in London with a dodgy landlord. He didn't provide a gas safety certificate, didn't protect the deposit, was rude and aggressive when contacted and didn't provide a contract. There also appear to be 5 people in the property and it is on several floors so I think it is an HMO - unlicensed of course.

My daughter moved out without notice and wants the deposit returned. All funds have been paid by bank transfer and so we do have a record. The landlord hasn't provided address details and even his name is uncertain so legal action is made difficult. It seems to me that he has no case to retain the deposit as we can claim breach of contract. If we go to court can we just sue the owner of the property and if necessary use the property itself as a service address? We could get this info from the land registry for £4.99

Any advice appreciated.

Just shows you how bad some landlords are!

David