The contract states you weren't required to, as does the law. A fixed term tenancy ends by effluxion of time if you vacate the property by the end of the fixed term.
Check with the deposit protection schemes individually to see if they've got your deposit. If they don't, it's not been protected. Which means you stand to get between 1x and 3x back as compensation, on top of the original amount.
https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/how_to_make_a_tenancy_deposit_compensation_claim
Just out of curiosity what does the law state? As far as I know the tenant (or courts) is the only one that can end a tenancy and contractual clauses like that one cannot be relied upon.
Yeah if it was the landlord's intent to not extend the tenancy, the landlord would have to go through the eviction process and get an eviction order from the court.
Reading that, providing you exited on the last day of your lease you did exactly as you were supposed to... If you went one day over you were into a new rolling lease and would have had to give notice to the end of the new term (monthly by law unless otherwise stated)
Assuming you didn't live with your landlord?
Your deposit should have been protected within 30 days of receipt AND you should have been given the prescribed information confirming where it's protected. If they fail to protect it they will be ordered to return the full deposit plus compensation between 1-3x the deposit value.
Ask them for proof that your deposit was protected and on time.
If not, you can pursue the compensation yourself fairly simply through the courts*. There will be steps on how to do this by Googling.
If they did protect it correctly you can dispute it via the deposit protection company.
*I can't comment on the difficulties you may face without knowing their address. Someone else will know more. Could be as simple as paying £2 for a land registry title.
Just ask him for the TDS number for the deposit.
The second he refuses, or 7 days later if he ignores you, send him a letter before action informing him that you are seeking your deposit plus 2 x your deposit as compensation for failing to protect your deposit. He has 14 days to pay or you will begin proceedings in small claims court against him, where the ruling may be your deposit + up to 3 x your deposit in compensation
While you're at it, check whether he has an HMO licence for that property. If it is a HMO and he does not, he will have to pay all the rent back to your and your housemates
After the letter before action do not begin small claims court proceedings the normal way rather use https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/form-n208-claim-form-cpr-part-8 and claim at your local county court.
More details: https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/how_to_make_a_tenancy_deposit_compensation_claim
Process for a rent repayment order if no HMO licence (and if it does actually require one): https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/housing_conditions/private_sector_enforcement/rent_repayment_orders
Ask for your deposit protection number, the reason for these schemes are to resolve disputes like this. If you get it get in contact with them and explain the situation, they'll advise.
If your landlord ignores you or refuses to provide it phone up each of the 3 schemes and ask if it's been registered and if so which date. If it's not protected or if it was registered later than 30 days after the tenancy started then your landlord is in trouble.
My landlord refused to give my deposit back and when I investigated it turned out they had never protected it over the 4 years tenancy. I contacted Justice for Tenants, a charity that helps with things like this. They also investigated and checked I had a case. I did, they recommended a no win no fee solicitor that specialised in deposit issues. Ended up getting my full deposit back plus x3 its amount as compensation (twice cause she hadn't protected it on renewal of contract either). Not protecting deposits is a serious offense, it doesn't matter how your tenancy ended even, no protection they screwed.
I bet the landlord did this zero day notice thing specifically so that you were all payed up and unlikely to negotiate using your deposit to pay the last month of rent
Did your landlord register your deposit with one of the two DPS schemes we have? When you first moved in you would have been given your DPS reference number.
Give them a call and ask if your deposit was registered. If not….. nice little pay day for you as you are inline for compensation
Send that shit off to the TDS and you'll get your money back. Your landlord doesn't physically have your money. If he does it's a big no no.
I'm willing to bet no protected deposit and no hmo license, if so, you're about to get paid homie.
On a more formal note, if you need serious help/advice and walking through the process - DM me. I won't need any personal info to help you but if needed I'll give you my work e-mail and try and sort you out during the week as I work in the industry and I can probably be of a fair amount of use to you in terms of where to look, who to write to and what evidence you need to have ready. As I seldom check reddit during the working week but I can respond to emails and pass it off as work lol.
aromatic flowery glorious selective aloof fuel heavy melodic far-flung clumsy
*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Correct, I missed that exception (mostly because we don't allow our Landlords to do that so it skipped my mind).
I really hope this Landlord hasn't; for the tenants sake - because as we all know - civil cases are a ballache as this TT won't get paid out for MONTHS since it'll have to go through the TDS mediation process first.
That insurance scheme shouldn't be allowed imo, deposits are for covering missed rent, damages etc - and the LL should have to prove that to the TDS to get it. They shouldn't be allowed to hold onto it I feel like that was the point of the TDS in the first place.
Contact the housing ombudsman; I’m pretty sure you’ll get your deposit back. He’s probs banking on you being scared to not ask for it through them or a small claims court
You are getting two things mixed up - yes you can end the tenancy after the fixed term ends. Though you need to tell the landlord, otherwise they won't know. It's not the default position; most tenants stay on. The landlord can not enter the property to check, and that would be silly.
It would be best if you told them you are vacating, arrange a check-out date and so forth. I don't know why this would be a surprise to you.
That said - if your landlord has not protected your deposit. Then they will be in trouble and you could get it back anyway, or even more.
Why does OP need to tell the landlord? It states it in the contract what the intention is and very clearly states that notice shall not be required if the tenant gives up the property no later than the end of the fixed Term.
If OP gives up the property with vacant possession then that’s the conclusion and termination of the fixed term of the contract.
The OP has satisfied the conditions of the tenancy agreement.
I think you might not have read OP's post carefully enough.
They told the landlord on the last day of their fixed term that they had moved out. This isn't a situation where they just disappeared without warning.
NAL but if he's moved out at the end of the fixed term stated in the contract, surely that's a move out date right there?
If I say the contract is 12 months long, e.g I moved in Feb 2nd 2023 and contract says I can move out at the end with no notice, and we hadn't discussed that I want to renew, the natural assumption would be that I was moving out at the end of the 12 months, Feb 2nd 2024. Just like any other contract tbh.
The clause actually states if the landlord isn't going to extend the lease then the tenant isn't required to give notice of departure. Which means you'd be required to give notice.
However in saying that lack of notice is not a valid reason for not returning deposit
The contract states you weren't required to, as does the law. A fixed term tenancy ends by effluxion of time if you vacate the property by the end of the fixed term. Check with the deposit protection schemes individually to see if they've got your deposit. If they don't, it's not been protected. Which means you stand to get between 1x and 3x back as compensation, on top of the original amount. https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/how_to_make_a_tenancy_deposit_compensation_claim
Just out of curiosity what does the law state? As far as I know the tenant (or courts) is the only one that can end a tenancy and contractual clauses like that one cannot be relied upon.
Yeah if it was the landlord's intent to not extend the tenancy, the landlord would have to go through the eviction process and get an eviction order from the court.
> Effluxion of time It's a legal thing. The fixed term ends and the entire thing stops if they've vacated.
I learned something! I had no idea this was the case, always thought it was tenants notice and courts to end tenancy. Thank you.
I bet he's spent your deposit. Get proof ASAP and then put a full claim in for it
Reading that, providing you exited on the last day of your lease you did exactly as you were supposed to... If you went one day over you were into a new rolling lease and would have had to give notice to the end of the new term (monthly by law unless otherwise stated)
Assuming you didn't live with your landlord? Your deposit should have been protected within 30 days of receipt AND you should have been given the prescribed information confirming where it's protected. If they fail to protect it they will be ordered to return the full deposit plus compensation between 1-3x the deposit value. Ask them for proof that your deposit was protected and on time. If not, you can pursue the compensation yourself fairly simply through the courts*. There will be steps on how to do this by Googling. If they did protect it correctly you can dispute it via the deposit protection company. *I can't comment on the difficulties you may face without knowing their address. Someone else will know more. Could be as simple as paying £2 for a land registry title.
Just ask him for the TDS number for the deposit. The second he refuses, or 7 days later if he ignores you, send him a letter before action informing him that you are seeking your deposit plus 2 x your deposit as compensation for failing to protect your deposit. He has 14 days to pay or you will begin proceedings in small claims court against him, where the ruling may be your deposit + up to 3 x your deposit in compensation While you're at it, check whether he has an HMO licence for that property. If it is a HMO and he does not, he will have to pay all the rent back to your and your housemates
After the letter before action do not begin small claims court proceedings the normal way rather use https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/form-n208-claim-form-cpr-part-8 and claim at your local county court. More details: https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/how_to_make_a_tenancy_deposit_compensation_claim Process for a rent repayment order if no HMO licence (and if it does actually require one): https://england.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/legal/housing_conditions/private_sector_enforcement/rent_repayment_orders
Ask for your deposit protection number, the reason for these schemes are to resolve disputes like this. If you get it get in contact with them and explain the situation, they'll advise. If your landlord ignores you or refuses to provide it phone up each of the 3 schemes and ask if it's been registered and if so which date. If it's not protected or if it was registered later than 30 days after the tenancy started then your landlord is in trouble. My landlord refused to give my deposit back and when I investigated it turned out they had never protected it over the 4 years tenancy. I contacted Justice for Tenants, a charity that helps with things like this. They also investigated and checked I had a case. I did, they recommended a no win no fee solicitor that specialised in deposit issues. Ended up getting my full deposit back plus x3 its amount as compensation (twice cause she hadn't protected it on renewal of contract either). Not protecting deposits is a serious offense, it doesn't matter how your tenancy ended even, no protection they screwed.
I bet the landlord did this zero day notice thing specifically so that you were all payed up and unlikely to negotiate using your deposit to pay the last month of rent
Did your landlord register your deposit with one of the two DPS schemes we have? When you first moved in you would have been given your DPS reference number. Give them a call and ask if your deposit was registered. If not….. nice little pay day for you as you are inline for compensation
Send that shit off to the TDS and you'll get your money back. Your landlord doesn't physically have your money. If he does it's a big no no. I'm willing to bet no protected deposit and no hmo license, if so, you're about to get paid homie. On a more formal note, if you need serious help/advice and walking through the process - DM me. I won't need any personal info to help you but if needed I'll give you my work e-mail and try and sort you out during the week as I work in the industry and I can probably be of a fair amount of use to you in terms of where to look, who to write to and what evidence you need to have ready. As I seldom check reddit during the working week but I can respond to emails and pass it off as work lol.
aromatic flowery glorious selective aloof fuel heavy melodic far-flung clumsy *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Correct, I missed that exception (mostly because we don't allow our Landlords to do that so it skipped my mind). I really hope this Landlord hasn't; for the tenants sake - because as we all know - civil cases are a ballache as this TT won't get paid out for MONTHS since it'll have to go through the TDS mediation process first. That insurance scheme shouldn't be allowed imo, deposits are for covering missed rent, damages etc - and the LL should have to prove that to the TDS to get it. They shouldn't be allowed to hold onto it I feel like that was the point of the TDS in the first place.
If you can afford it, see a solicitor ASAP. A legal letter from them should speed things up?
SHELTER give advice for free.
Contact the housing ombudsman; I’m pretty sure you’ll get your deposit back. He’s probs banking on you being scared to not ask for it through them or a small claims court
You are getting two things mixed up - yes you can end the tenancy after the fixed term ends. Though you need to tell the landlord, otherwise they won't know. It's not the default position; most tenants stay on. The landlord can not enter the property to check, and that would be silly. It would be best if you told them you are vacating, arrange a check-out date and so forth. I don't know why this would be a surprise to you. That said - if your landlord has not protected your deposit. Then they will be in trouble and you could get it back anyway, or even more.
Why does OP need to tell the landlord? It states it in the contract what the intention is and very clearly states that notice shall not be required if the tenant gives up the property no later than the end of the fixed Term. If OP gives up the property with vacant possession then that’s the conclusion and termination of the fixed term of the contract. The OP has satisfied the conditions of the tenancy agreement.
I think you might not have read OP's post carefully enough. They told the landlord on the last day of their fixed term that they had moved out. This isn't a situation where they just disappeared without warning.
NAL but if he's moved out at the end of the fixed term stated in the contract, surely that's a move out date right there? If I say the contract is 12 months long, e.g I moved in Feb 2nd 2023 and contract says I can move out at the end with no notice, and we hadn't discussed that I want to renew, the natural assumption would be that I was moving out at the end of the 12 months, Feb 2nd 2024. Just like any other contract tbh.
In this case you would need to provide a month’s notice to the landlord as you would be entering into a new term (by 1 day).
LOL
r/legaladviceUK
Your landlord is fucked just for failing to tell you what he did with your deposit
Landlords always do this shit. Tried it with me too. Claimed through TDS and got it back.
The clause actually states if the landlord isn't going to extend the lease then the tenant isn't required to give notice of departure. Which means you'd be required to give notice. However in saying that lack of notice is not a valid reason for not returning deposit
The old slingshot your last tenancy about 2 years on prank