Landlord wants to return deposit early...

[tids_69]

Hi

Me and my wife have been renting a property from a private landlord for 5 years. We have a very good relationship with him and hes very proactive with issues but happy for us to withing reason do as we please.

We recentlt had an email from him concerning the deposit as it had been moved to a different protection scheme and he couldnt find the relevant paperwork.

We happily provided the detail.

During the course of the usual bit of back and forth he has indicated a desire to return the deposit to us. His reasoning being we are trusted and he has no quibbles about our treatment of the property.

My understanding is that the deposit isnt relevant to the terms of the tenency re notice etc. He has inditcated he has no intention of asking us to leave.

My question is what are the legal ramifications? I understand we would effectively be giving up dispute protection, but i see no issues potentially arising. Could we for example agree a nominal deposit to keep that alive or is there other legal recourse should the worst happen and he does lodge a signicant dispute?

Thanks for the help.

[jaguarsuk]

It's my understanding that deposits are determined by the landlord and it could be anything from £1 upward if he chooses. The schemes may have restrictions on what the minimum is though and that would be worth looking at as well.

I don't know what the legal ramifications or other avenues of redress might be, so someone else will have to answer that part.

[Kati]

Diana M ... any ideas??

[Diana M]

We recentlt had an email from him concerning the deposit as it had been moved to a different protection scheme and he couldnt find the relevant paperwork.

We happily provided the detail.

During the course of the usual bit of back and forth he has indicated a desire to return the deposit to us. His reasoning being we are trusted and he has no quibbles about our treatment of the property.

My understanding is that the deposit isnt relevant to the terms of the tenency re notice etc. He has inditcated he has no intention of asking us to leave.

My question is what are the legal ramifications? I understand we would effectively be giving up dispute protection, but i see no issues potentially arising. Could we for example agree a nominal deposit to keep that alive or is there other legal recourse should the worst happen and he does lodge a signicant dispute?

Perhaps he has not protected your Deposit in line with his statutory obligations (when he moved it recently) so wants to return it to you knowing that he can't successfully seek possession of the property under Section 21 if he hasn't done things properly.

So this means that the deposit is relevant to the terms of the tenancy in connection with giving notice.

The tenancy agreement is a legally binding contract and can't be altered without written/witnessed consent by both parties. At the outset it should state the full details of the Deposit, where it is protected, what deductions can be argued etc.

He may say he has no intention of asking you to leave at present but that could change in the future.

Di