tenancy deposit

[lizzy156uk]

hi i have recently moved out of a house where i felt unsafe. i moved out before the end of the tenancy agreement ended and the landlord has refused to pay back my deposit. The deposit has not been paid into a protection scheme am i still right to have my deposit returned?

[Eve]

If you hadn't moved out early how much extra rent would you have had to pay to the Landlord if you'd given the notice required?

Was it a standard 6 month AST and, if so, did you move out within the initial 6 months and, if so, when.

How much was your rent and deposit?

[stonekicker]

doesn't matter how long you were there. most ast's have a caveat which allows due notice to be given before vacating at any stage of the tenancy - check the small print for tthe terms of this. the only way a landlord can keep the deposit is if there is damage to the property or unpaid rent. as he hasn't registerd the deposit, you can either go to the arbitrators for the tenancy deposit scheme or a lawyer to get them to stump up the cash. simple.

[Twenty20]

Oh dear stonekicker, wait till you get all the facts before giving advice. Most ASTs wont have a clause allowing the tenant to break the tenancy in the first 6 months - there would be no point having a 6 month fixed term if that were the case. The 'arbitrators' of the tenancy deposit scheme wont be interested either as they will know nothing about the deposit. The arbitrators will arbitrate on any deductions from a deposit held in the scheme if both parties agree to the arbitration.

Whether the deposit had to be held in a protection scheme or by an insurance policy depends on the date you signed the tenancy or resigned a new tenancy and the type of tenancy it is. If it was after April 2007 then, in most cases, the deposit should be held in a scheme and you should have been informed of this. If the deposit should have been in the scheme its possible for you to sue the landlord for 3x the deposit. A few cases of this have gone to Court and, from what I believe, judgments have gone either way. Unfortunately, the Law in this case isnt written particularly well and it's fairly ambiguous.

If you broke your tenancy agreement by leaving early or without giving the required notice then the landlord can use your deposit in lieu of the rent you owe.

If you feel you are owed money back from the deposit then you would need to first of all write to the landlord stating your reasons. If youre not satisfied by that then you could take the landlord to Court, you can do this online quite easily.

I'd listen more to Jenna1978 on this than stonekicker.