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Hello everyone,
I need urgent advice about my tenancy deposit situation here in England. Last October, I moved into a new rental property through a letting agency and paid a deposit, which was supposed to be transferred to a government-approved scheme for safekeeping. However, I never received confirmation of this deposit being secured. In December, the landlord informed me that the agency hadn't been paying him rent or bills for months, leading him to take over. He proposed issuing a new contract to replace the old one.
When I contacted the deposit scheme, I found out my deposit wasn't there, which made me suspect the agency might have taken off with the money. In February, the landlord gave me a new contract and said I had to sign it to replace the old one, so I could get my deposit back. Then, I could transfer it back to him, and he could properly transfer it to the Scheme under his name. He said he was talking to the deposit scheme and they were waiting for me to get in touch to sort things out through their insurance.
I talked to my landlord to confirm if he was sure about it, as my deposit was missing and my previous attempts to contact them were unsuccessful. However, he insisted that I had to claim it this way. So I signed the new contract and emailed the Scheme explaining the whole situation attaching evidence of my deposit payment to the agency. But they got back to me today and confirmed my deposit wasn't in their records and they cannot offer any further help.
I have just informed my landlord, and now he mentioned that he would give me a call tomorrow. I suspect he's waiting to seek legal advice and might not want to deal with my deposit issue directly.
Now, I'm unsure about what to do next to claim my deposit. It seems reasonable to me that since I paid the agency and the money belongs to the landlord, he should shoulder the loss and support me, especially considering the agency's failure to pay rent and bills.
Should the landlord take responsibility for the missing deposit, or should I pursue the -now defunct- letting agency, whose director is missing overseas? Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated.
I need urgent advice about my tenancy deposit situation here in England. Last October, I moved into a new rental property through a letting agency and paid a deposit, which was supposed to be transferred to a government-approved scheme for safekeeping. However, I never received confirmation of this deposit being secured. In December, the landlord informed me that the agency hadn't been paying him rent or bills for months, leading him to take over. He proposed issuing a new contract to replace the old one.
When I contacted the deposit scheme, I found out my deposit wasn't there, which made me suspect the agency might have taken off with the money. In February, the landlord gave me a new contract and said I had to sign it to replace the old one, so I could get my deposit back. Then, I could transfer it back to him, and he could properly transfer it to the Scheme under his name. He said he was talking to the deposit scheme and they were waiting for me to get in touch to sort things out through their insurance.
I talked to my landlord to confirm if he was sure about it, as my deposit was missing and my previous attempts to contact them were unsuccessful. However, he insisted that I had to claim it this way. So I signed the new contract and emailed the Scheme explaining the whole situation attaching evidence of my deposit payment to the agency. But they got back to me today and confirmed my deposit wasn't in their records and they cannot offer any further help.
I have just informed my landlord, and now he mentioned that he would give me a call tomorrow. I suspect he's waiting to seek legal advice and might not want to deal with my deposit issue directly.
Now, I'm unsure about what to do next to claim my deposit. It seems reasonable to me that since I paid the agency and the money belongs to the landlord, he should shoulder the loss and support me, especially considering the agency's failure to pay rent and bills.
Should the landlord take responsibility for the missing deposit, or should I pursue the -now defunct- letting agency, whose director is missing overseas? Any advice or insights would be greatly appreciated.
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