5 Wks notice from T, against deposit

Hi,
T has given me 5 weeks notice to terminate the tenancy agreement on the day the rent is due to be paid. The deposit collected is for a 5 weeks money equivalent.
I think T will not be paying the final rent but to use the 5 weeks deposit to cover the final rent.
Can T do that? I read the agreement and says :

8.7. The Tenant shall not be entitled to withhold the payment of any instalment of Rent or any other monies payable under this agreement on the ground that the Landlord, or OpenRent, holds the Cash Deposit or any part of it.

No discrimination with the following comment ; T is on UC and I think T will be trying to do this as I issued S21.

Comments and advice please.

Thank you

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No, the tenant is not entitled to do that if your tenancy agreement says they can’t use the deposit to pay the rent. You should let them know this, but if they still do it, you would be forced to sue them using MCOL if there is any property damage or other deductable costs when they leave.

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Thank you David 122. That’s what I thought, otherwise they will be no money left to off set for any damaged to the property.
Thank you very much

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Hi, T did not pay the rent this month so my thought were correct in respect of using the deposit towards the 5 weeks notice, although T has not mention it.
I emailed T to say that rent was not been paid and T replied " Under the Protection of Eviction Act 1977, your email and any future emails could be classed as harassment, particularly demanding money that I cannot pay".
T was taken on as a UC individual and the local council agreed to pay for T’s rent. T never mentioned to be in financial difficulties only mentioned this when I emailed T that the rent has not been paid (9th Jul).
Any comments will be very welcome.
Thank you

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Tenant is talking bo$$ocks. He remains responsible for the rent even if the Council agrees to pay it. Does the Council not pay it to you directly?

Most landlords here would tell you to steer clear of such deals with Councils.

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Is the tenant in a debt breathing space ?

Initially, T had the agreed value to be paid which it was granted by the local C.
Then T changed for payment to be made directly to T.

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David122. Initially the council agreed to pay for T rent ( i have emails to back up)

This is a key reason why many landlords refuse referrals from the Council. Several landlords have posted about Councils promising payment directly to the landlord and supporting the tenancy, but have found that this evaporates once the tenant is in.

Unfortunately you have no case against the Council and would have to sue the tenant.

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I have emailed my local MP to contact the Council. As soon as I know the outcome, I will post again so we can learn from it. Thank you guys

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This is an update.
My local MP has not received a reply from the Council about T not paying. T initially gave me 5 weeks notice but decided to move out 1 week earlier. T just emailed me on the day of leaving to say that left the property and keys are in the kitchen.
I checked the status of the property :
1 - The monoxide detector in the kitchen is gone
2 - The 5Ms old fridge has a dent on the door (outside and inside)
3 - The ceiling light bulb in the lounge is gone
4 - A floor mat in the lounge is gone
5 - The grass has not been cut
6 - The hedges have not been trimmed
7 - T installed a straight door bolt in the main bedroom. Although I said no.
8 - T installed an extra valve in the kitchen from the existing washing machine
valve tee, may be for a water filter kit. I was never told about this.
9 - General cleaning and hoovering required.

T said will be contacting the company about the deposit.

Rent was due on the 9th July but T did not pay so if I apply interest of 3% above BOE against the deposit value, the balance left will be about 90 GBP which will not be enough to cover my points above mentioned, although the contract says that is the deposit is not enough to cover for all the repairs etc T will need to pay LL for the difference within 14 days.

Has any of you LL recovered rent from the deposit value and add the 3% INT above BOE?

Do I need to contact the deposit company or do I leave it to T? I would imagine the deposit company will contact me as soon as T make a claim.

Any comments are very welcome.

Thank you

Youre probably going to need specialist help with this from an eviction company. I would anticipate that the tenabt wont pay any more rent and it will take you several months to evict him. He probably doesnt have any money of his own, so dont expect to recover any funds if you sue him either.

I would also suggest you contact Bill Irvine at UC Advice and Advocacy. If anyone can help you get the rent paid directly to you again, its him.

You should also deal with the critical disrepair in the property, which may otherwise prevent eviction. Of the things you mention, the CO detector and the light bulb would be the priority.

It is often hard to recover such money especially when a tenant does a runner and fails to supply a forwarding address.

However if you make it clear to them you are taking a separate court action against the to recover the money they will sometimes pay to avoid a CCJ.

and if they are stubborn and you press forward a cout will usually direct they pay you you costs in tracking them down , court fees and fees for legal advice

You can also let them know that deliberately withholding rent - may effect any future references they may seek for another property or any applications for council property or social housing and you will disclose to the council that they are in arrears. .

But in the end it is your judgement how you handle this. - some landlords just wite it off and increase rent to cover the risk - others pursue debtors to the last often increasing their debt with court costs

Its up to you - personally I might take the former approach with a tenant who shows willing but is genuinely strugglig to pay but the latter with someone who has just decided they can get away with it .

Apologies, I missed your first sentence about the tenant emailing to say he’d left. You need to reply accepting his surrender of the tenancy effective from the date of his email. This will at least allow you to get on and re-let.

Thank you Mark and David,
Just an update. The Council has not replied to my local MP, it has been 4 weeks now.
T has put a claim to retrieve the deposit so I have done my list of stolen items (I say stolen because they have not been misplaced) so I bought a light bulb and a carbon monoxide detector. Also general cleaning and damaged to some units in the kitchen.
I noticed that the mower does not work anymore. The blade does not rotate, so I bought a new unit.
I am putting a claim so it can be deducted from the 5 weeks deposit plus interest.
We are playing ping pong with the deposit company. I am not accepting the offer from T. Also mentioned that interest will be calculated daily from now on.
The expenditure to put my property right is greater than the deposit by 188 GBP.
My next contact with the deposit company I will add that if no payment is received within 24 Hrs a CCJ will be issued.
I have not received a refence request from T, so I do not think T is going to a rental property.

I will make comments as they develop so it might help all the LL.

I mean, do you want to waste your time and money on £188? It will cost you more and you’ll be unlikely to recover any money awarded to you, and might be asked to pay his costs.

Just learn from this - if you have a council tenant you either need a än upfront payment worth the hassle or an agreement, contract, that they will pay for the rent and damages by the tenant.

wow… you have got lucky there. Accept it as an expense and move on. Your list of issues with the property is very minor in the grand scheme of things. T could have held on for much longer, withheld much more rent and done a lot more damage. I would be very thankful.

Jorge, I think you should do some reading about this issue.

You wont get interest on the amounts claimed from the deposit. You dont get new for old, only the original cost of items less depreciation and wear and tear, which is often close to zero. You will only get money for items you can prove the condition of when the tenancy started and where you can evidence that the tenant caused damage, not just that things stopped working. You dont issue a CCJ, the court does and after due process, but you are not using the court for the claim, youre using the deposit scheme.

I think youre going to end up even more disappointed unless you understand the process a bit better.

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It has been a long time since my last post.
This is an update about my T and my claim.
I used the deposit company from Open Rent and they were very helpful, it took about a month and I was granted to claim most of repairs and renewals. I am only short by 186 GBP…
T has disappeared, I do not have a fwd address. I am getting bills for gas / elec /water and council tax. I wrote to all of them explaining the situation so I am not liable for any charges.
My last line…No more UC T for me !!!

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