Can they hold on to my deposit?

P

PaddyW

Registered User
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I plan to leave my current rented room next month.

I was talking to one of the girls I shared with and she has told me that previously, the other girls that are there have held on to the deposits of previous renters that had not gotten someone in to rent the room. I think it will be very hard to rent this room out as it's 500 per month and plenty of places going cheaper for same standard. Plus there's one other thing, which I won't go into detail on, that I think prospective renters wouldn't be too happy with in the future.

If I don't get someone in I expect they'll try hold the deposit to cover the months rent, but I don't think they have any right whatsoever to do this. The landlord doesn't seem to care who or what is there once he gets his full rent for the month.

Can anyone enlighten me on my chances of getting the deposit back?
 
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Do you have a lease agreement? If you don't then it is the landlord that should be giving back the deposit and you should deal directly with him.
 
That's grand, will deal directly with him and just leave them out of it. Thanks.
 
Exactly. They hace no right to hold your deposit.

Only deal directly with the landlord.
 
does it not depend on how the tenancy details (and how rent is paid) - I think I have read elsewhere here that if you all personally have an agreement with him and you all pay him seperately then you will get the refund, but if you have one single agreement for the entire property, pool the money and pay together, then you may need to replace yourself - otherwise the other tenants would need to make up the difference until your room is filled.
 
Well, I signed no agreement to that effect. And it was never discussed with me or mentioned since I moved in. I give him cash directly every month.
 
PaddyW said:
Well, I signed no agreement to that effect. And it was never discussed with me or mentioned since I moved in. I give him cash directly every month.
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If you signed nothing then you should have no worries.

If he acts the maggot with your deposit go to the PRTB.
 
when you moved in did you all say you were going to stay a year in this place? Are you moving out early? in which case they have every right to withhold this money, unless they or you are able to find someone to rent the room for the remaining period of the tenancy. If nothing was discussed about your rental period then the situation becomes difficult.
Speaking personally as landlord, I and most other landlords do not rent out "rooms", but whole apartments. The tenancy period on my contract is one year and the deposit is not given back to them or an individual person until the end of the year. If someone moves out it is the tenants responsibility to deal with it and as long as I have a reference from the new person they find, I dont care who is living there. I certainly will not refund individual deposits, because as I have said I am not renting a room but an apartment.
 
Except in this case there is no lease so he should be free to leave with deposit, its the landlords problem for not having one in place.
 
MrMan said:
Do you have a lease agreement? If you don't then it is the landlord that should be giving back the deposit and you should deal directly with him.
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Does this hold if the deposit was paid to the housemates, not the landlord.
 
If you did hand it to a housemate and got nothing in writing your biggest problem would be proving that you did so, regarding the legaities of this scenario I'm not sure.
 
Hi, the landlord got it, along with one month's rent in advance. No length of time was discussed, no one said anything about having to stay a certain length of time, nothing like that. I'm pretty sure they're going to try pull a fast one on me by trying to keep the deposit, what can I say or do to combat that?
 
When I read "rent paid in cash" and no agreement in place I tend to get a little suspicious. Perhaps everything is as it should be but I would doubt that registration with PRTB is in order.
As others have said deal directly with landlord and hope.
Have you ever claimed your tax relief on rent paid. Perhaps now might be a good time to ask landlord for PPS number so that you can claim relief
 
Certainly, if you're giving the guys you're living with and the landlord one months notice, and haven't caused any damage, you should be entitled to your money back in full. If you originally dealt with the landlord, and hadn't committed to staying a particular stay (eg: one year), then it's the landlord's responsability to get a new tennant at whatever the market rate is for the room at the moment.
 
I would talk to Threshold about this - I've dealt with them and they're very good.

Why would they feel entitled to keep your deposit if you give them a month's notice? They are trying to pull a fast one.
 
 
Chequered property life? There are two property ones. My own home mortgage and one I got with my ex girlfriend. I was going to claim TRS on the house with my ex, as I was going to live there, but as the relationship is now over, I rent. Also, how does my pension and a bank draft tie in with mortgages?

Rmelly, 'twas a nice place alright, but I wouldn't buy a whole one!

Blacksheep, in relation to rent relief, I don't claim this, as I already get TRS on my family home which I have a mortgage on.

I talked to threshold, but they weren't any great help, as there was no lease agreement in place. Just said the usual, written notice to landlord etc.

Thanks for the replies.
 
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