Hi all,
I wondered whether I could obtain some advice?
My son has been privately renting for about 3.5 years. He has just moved out having given notice and the landlord wants to keep the full deposit for repairs etc. This is disputed by my son... There are some small issues, but we would argue just general wear and tear, but would rather not have to argue with the landlord.
The advice I need is to do with the protection of the deposit itself, and whether it was done correctly. If not, this would hopefully mean we wouldn't need to argue the above with the landlord...
My son and his family moved into the property Oct 1st 2009, signing a 1-year AST. They did this through Green Estate Agents, who have advised me that they protected the deposit until 1/10/2010. I'm not sure who they protected it through, but Green have a copy of the certificate so I can find out if needed. My son never received any information regarding this, no certificate, no documents at all, not even a mention of whether the deposit was protected or who with etc. Green say this should have come from the protection company, and they have said it should have come from the Landlord!
After the first year, my son signed a new 1-year AST. Again nothing was ever discussed or received regarding protecting the deposit. After requesting information from the landlord last week, he provided details of the scheme he is using, www.depositprotection.com
After logging in we can see that the deposit was registered with them 1/5/2011. Green advised that they had kept the deposit until 6/4/2011 when they gave it back to the landlord as they no longer managed the property (the landlord took over himself).
After the second year, the landlord carried on the tenancy ad-hock, sending out hand-typed letters to extend the contract by 'x' months each time, until last month when my son and his family bought a new house and moved out.
As a landlord myself, I make sure I protect deposits straight away, and send out info (including the scheme, how to dispute etc) within 14 days of protection. However I know rules have changed over the years and I'm not sure how to advise my son...
Has the landlord here done things properly? Does anyone have any advice on how my son could proceed?
Appreciate any help :)
