backing out of a tenancy agreement

[chrissy21]

I will start by explaining my friends situation. She was homeless and agreed to a tenancy agreement all exited after having a quick look at a property. Gillian went to decorate and she looked at the property properly and found it half plastered as they had done a damp course on the downstairs and when she tried to remove the wallpaer from above the wall was crumbling and the carpets were so worn they tore when she tried to roll them up to decorate, they were about 20 years old there was newspapers from 1984 under them. The open fire place just had a piece of plasterboard covering them. There was nails sticking out of the skirting boards which hadnt been attached properly. The shower was a disabled shower and the rail wouldnt rise so she would have to sit down to shower. The floors were all uneven where they hadnt been layed back down properly. it was basically a death trap for her 6 year old son and 1 year old daughter. The landlady refused to do any work to correct any of the problems so she told her she couldnt take her children there to live. My question is can she keep the deposit of �500 my friend gave her. My friend told her within 14 days which i thought everyone had a legal right to opt out of any contract. Hope someone can help

[flyciderman]

There a number of points as below.

1) Did she have consent to decorate if not why would she start pulling paper of the walls?
2) By decorating she has caused damage to the property..
3) Your fiend would have to make good before she can expect her deposit back.
4) However if the deposit was paid recently then the landlady is required to register the deposit by law. Your friend will know as she would have to be informed by the landlady.

If the deposit has not been registered there are some very strong penalties on the Landlady. Fines of 3 times the deposit and not being able to serve notice on the tenant to get the property back at the end of the agreement.

Assuming that she has not registered the deposit I would find out about all the details of the deposit protection scheme and tell the landlady in the strongest possible terms that the best thing to do is for both to part company and get her deposit back.

[chrissy21]

yes she was given permission to decorate and she was going to replace the carpets too but when she actually seen the work entailed and the cost to make the property safe for her children she approached the landlady and explained her reasons one she couldnt afford to do it all and two it would take weeks before they could move in but the landlady still expected rent. if the landlady had offered help then gillian would have stuck it out and done it. She has been offered another house for �525pm �25 a month cheaper and its brand new. Is there a legal requirement as to the state of the property before they can be rented out.

[chrissy21]

dont think she has registered the deposit either!! she never said anything to gillian regarding registration. thanxs for your speedy reply.

[flyciderman]

Be very firm with the landlady tell her you are going to kick up the biggest fuss that she will wish she had never even thought about letting. Als if there is gas in the place is there the landlords gas safty certificate in place, ask to see it.

[chrissy21]

we will try flyspiderman thanksxx

[chrissy21]

sorry meant thanks flyciderman!!!

[Hymie]

I�m not an expert on the legalities of renting property, however flyciderman�s argument allowing your friend to claim/pressurise her landlady into returning her deposit, seems to depend on the landlady having not met her legal obligations. If the landlady has complied, then your friends claim may be weak.

Let�s say that the landlady has failed to register the deposit, has no valid gas safety certificate, and for good measure, there is no smoke detector in the property � to whom should she complain? (I don�t know).
For sure, if she went to the local police station, they would be too busy chasing motorists for minor traffic violations to bother with landlords who put the lives of tenants at risk.

[flyciderman]

correct her arrgument would be weak but it sounds as if she has not registed the deposit.

I would not go to the Police on a matter like this in any case.

[Twenty20]

Seems like you've got several issues here.

Firstly, if the property is uninhabitable, unsafe, a health hazard etc then you/she should contact the Environmental Health Department of the local Council who can force the LL to rectify the faults.

It does sound a bit like you/she didnt take much notice when looking at the property before signing up? It wouldn't be too difficult to notice carpets which were worn out when viewing a property.

Unless you can get the Environmental Health Department on your side it might be difficult to get your money back. You could just walk away and take the LL to the Small Claims Court to regain your deposit but if the Environmental Health Department dont think you have a case then you probably wont get very far. Speak to them first.

Secondly, the deposit protection. This is a legal requirement now and there are several schemes that the money could have been put in. These include free schemes and insurance schemes. With any of these its a requirement for the LL to inform the tenant, within 14 days I think, the name of the scheme that the deposit is held in. If the deposit isnt held in a scheme (which would be stupid of the LL) or you are not informed where it is held you can take the LL to Court to make them return or protect the deposit and be awarded 3x the value of the deposit.

All the above is assuming you are on an AST and that it was signed after 6 April last year.

The first step is talking to the Environmental Health Department of your Council.