Deposit back - funny situation

baby and crumble

Hi all. Ok, basically we gave 5 weeks notice of moving out at the end of our 1 year lease- which is 1 week over the minimum. We dealt with a letting agent the whole time who was rubbish at sorting stuff, but that's a debate for another day.

anyway, my flatmate who was dealing with this met the agent with the keys, showed her the place and she was happy with it, so no probs with damage, etc. gave back keys, then to have agent say that the landlord himself had to come see the place before we'd get our deposit. agent said they have 5 days to do this.

is this right? i thought we would have to get it back straight off. I know it's not a HUGE wait but we're stuck for cash and were depending on getting this back asap.

anybody have any ideas as to whether this is true or not?

Zo

bobbiw

Its true, its not the letting agents choice, you didnt rent it from them. In fact the Landlord can hold onto your deposit for a full 30 days after you leave to make sure you paid all the bills

RentDayBlues

The LL is required to return the deposit promptly once there are no issue - there is no such thing as 30 days!

From the PRTB: Tenants are entitled to a refund of the deposit paid at the commencement of the tenancy where there is no rent owing in respect of the tenancy and there is no damage to the dwelling beyond normal wear and tear at the end of the tenancy. Landlords are required to refund the deposit promptly less any deductions in respect of outstanding rent and damage in excess of normal wear and tear.

From Threshold:

6. Give appropriate notice when you are leaving.
7. Make sure that all rent and bills are paid.
8. When you leave, your landlord must promptly return your deposit. The landlord may only keep some or all of the deposit to cover rent arrears or the costs of repairing any damage above normal wear and tear.
9. Remember your rent deposit belongs to you, not to the landlord.
10. If your landlord fails to return your money or makes unfair deductions, please contact your nearest Threshold advice centre:

astrofool

RentDayBlues wrote: »

The LL is required to return the deposit promptly once there are no issue - there is no such thing as 30 days!

From the PRTB: Tenants are entitled to a refund of the deposit paid at the commencement of the tenancy where there is no rent owing in respect of the tenancy and there is no damage to the dwelling beyond normal wear and tear at the end of the tenancy. Landlords are required to refund the deposit promptly less any deductions in respect of outstanding rent and damage in excess of normal wear and tear.


From Threshold:

6. Give appropriate notice when you are leaving.
7. Make sure that all rent and bills are paid.
8. When you leave, your landlord must promptly return your deposit. The landlord may only keep some or all of the deposit to cover rent arrears or the costs of repairing any damage above normal wear and tear.
9. Remember your rent deposit belongs to you, not to the landlord.
10. If your landlord fails to return your money or makes unfair deductions, please contact your nearest Threshold advice centre:

From this, it seems that there must be some proof that the bills have been paid in order to get the deposit back promptly(or wait the thirty days, i.e. the next billing cycle).

baby and crumble

Well the ntl account is coming with us, and the letting agent took a final reading to calculate our last esb bill... i'm a bit reticent about how to pay the final bill... i mean we can't be expected to wait until the final bill comes in, nor should we have to just give them money...

sorry, just trying to figure out where we stand, thanks for all your comments!