Asking for a deposit equal to at least one month’s rent is recommended. This must be kept in an interest-bearing account according to law – the interest is for the tenant, not the landlord. The deposit plus interest must be paid back to the tenant at the end of the lease, after a final inspection of the property. If the tenant is in arrears at the time of vacating the property, and/or has caused damage to the property beyond normal wear and tear, you are entitled to use the deposit to make good the damage or to cover what is still owed to you in rent.
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We rented a townhouse for seven years. we did get our deposit back but we are now struggling to get our interest from the rental agency. According to the agent it is very complicated to calculate seeing that she also takes a percentage of the interest earned? Is this how it is suppose to work? Kindly advice
Hi Benita,
Thanks for your email. It is indeed “complicated” in a sense that it requires some skill and time to calculate the interest due. It has to be done and your agent will have to do. She is not allowed to earn a “percentage” of your interest earned. Report her to the rental housing tribunal.
Hope this helps.
Michael
I need to know, how long can the land lord take to pay a deposit back to the tenant if all was in order?
Hi Monja,
Thanks for your email. He is required to refund the deposit within 7 days unless there were damages to the property then it can be up to 21 days.
The Rental Housing Act is clear on this.
Hope this helps.
Michael
Dear Editor,
We have been renting for a year now. We bought a house and will be moving in end of May. We’ve already gave notice. We are paying our rent in advance (gave rent & deposit on 30 May 2010)
Do we need to pay rent end of April 2011? In other words not paying rent end of April, staying our notice month out in May and receiving our interest from the Agent end of May (don’t think there are any damages, we rather repaired!) We are just scared that the agent, who is registered with the Board, won’t pay our deposit + interest back end of May as we had a lot of problems with them previously.
If not, and we do pay them end of April and they refuse to give our full deposit + interest (which I didn’t know we are entitled to
) back end of May, what is the steps we can take?
Please let us know.
Kind regards
Hi Ann,
First of all, you need to pay your rent for April 2011. Secondly, they have to refund your deposit within 7 days (depending if they no defects) with interest.
If they don’t, simply lodge a complaint with the Rental Housing Tribunal in your area.
Hope this helps.
Michael
Oh yes, totally forgot to ask…. What is the interest percentage payable on the deposit that we need to receive from the Agent.
Kind regards
Hi Ann,
It depends on what sort of account, i.e. money market, savings, and call account, the agent has invested your deposit. Therefore, you have to ask for a statement of account showing your deposit (capital) and the interest earned over the time invested. I suggest you also for the name of product (the account type) and the bank and get a price list from that bank to double check.
Hope this helps.
Michael
I paid a deposit to a landlord, my financial situation took a dramatic turn for the worse which made me reconsider taking the house and look for something much cheaper. The landlord refuses to pay back my deposit, he says he’s now losing money because he has to find someone else. He also mentioned that should he find someone else soon he would only be willing to pay back 50% of my deposit.
Nothing has been signed between us as this all happened before we got together to sign a lease. Am I going mad? can he legally do this?
Dear Ivan,
Thanks for your email. Technically, you entered into a lease agreement and by cancelling it you have to give the required notice. If it was a verbal lease, 1 calendar month notice applies. The landlord is entitled to damages as well as rent during the period.
You need to understand that you have caused a financial loss situation for the landlord, too.
In my opinion, this is a fair offer from your landlord and I would take it.
If you disagree, then I suggest you contact the Rental Housing Tribunal in your area.
Hope this helps.
Michael
Hi there, our landlords have sold their property with tenants. They have transferred the deposit to the new owners, however we are having a problem obtaining our interest as the money was never invested into an account at all and they are not certain what to pay us. How do I obtain my interest and what would the interest rate be in this case? thanks
Dear Gareth,
They have to get a interest rate from a commercial bank and then calculate the interest, i.e. 5% p.a. charged monthly in arrears and add it up.
Hope this helps.
Michael
Please advice what the total should be, I received the following email from my letting agent. Doesn’t not look correct!
“I have calculated the interest due on the deposit as follows – R 2 300.00 for 7 years @ 4% plus Top up deposit paid 28/7/09 of R 230, another top up deposit of R253.00 paid on 29/9/09 and the final top up deposit of R 278.30 paid on 10/8/10. These are also worked out on 4%.
Total interest that must be added to your deposit account is R 632.18.”
They never kept the deposit in an interest bearing account and worked it all out today.
Many Thanks
Nolene
Hi Nolene,
Your interest rate is calculated compound. I think you have recalculate your deposit interest yourself. I did a very basic calculation and already arrived at more than R800 without your additional deposit increases.
I will email you the spreadsheet.
The agents or landlord should have invested your deposit separate from his assets and should have invested it in a interest bearing account.
Hope this helps.
Michael
I’m renting a 2 bedroom townhouse with 16 year old cheaper-end carpet which is generally installed in town houses. Please advise what the acceptable lifespan is for such carpets especially relating to allergy problems.
Our rental property is managed by a well known Agency who change ownership regularly and every time the service get worse. Our rental deposit was never in a interest bearing account. Our water were cut twice because the owner did not pay his taxes….they draw up contracts but do not uphold it themselves.
Hi Johan,
Thanks for your email. Frankly, I cannot comment on the livespan of the carpets. This is not an uncommon problem as some landlords have cash flow problems.
You have to report your agent and landlord to the Rental Housing Tribunal.
Hope this helps.
Michael
Hi
I have rented a complex for the last year and am considering moving into a house.
I have impecable references from where I rented before, I really look after a place as if it is my own. My problem is that my current Estate Agent use every loophole possible to keep the depost.
Of the 8 people I knew in the complex who moved in the last 3 months not one of them got ther deposit back.
I have damages in the complex from the previous owner who’s deposit was also witheld but no repairs have been done.
Rediculous amounts of money are being charged i.e.:R1200 per nail in the wall.
If one tile is cracked, you have to retile the whole room with new tiels etc.
I have not put a single nail in the wall in my year of accupation, but I did not count the nials in the wall when I moved in, and I am sure I am goin to be held responsible for those.
My deposit is R7800, what can I do to ensure that I am not bamboozled out of my depoist as all the other tenants?
Thanks
Connie
Hi Connie,
Thanks for your email. Your deposit is only to be used for damages and any outstanding rentals and municipal charges. You can ask for the quotes and invoices of repairs done and also the copy of the inspection report.
I suggest you immediately lodge a complaint at the Rental Housing Tribunal against the tenant and the landlord.
Hope this helps.
Michael
Hi, what is the contact details for rental housing tribunal. I wants to do a complaint.
Thanx Peet.
Hi Peet,
Thanks for your email. In which Province are you looking for?
Michael
HI
i have been living at my current place for round about 4-5 years.
i have had many issues with maintance that the landlord does not fufill.
i have now gotten fed up with his negligance and have decided to move out.
in the interim i have had a major mould infestation in the house where by clothing and food items get damaged or rotten due to this. i have deceided that i would like to use my deposit as the last months rent. issues i have had are the power keeps cutting out due to faulty wiring in the house. resulting in days of no power.
plumbing not working properly. can i serve my notice and move out using my deposit as the last months rent. the landlord does not have my money in a interest account and i doubt he even has the money avaialble. what can i recover as damage costs from him.
Keegan
Hi Keegan,
You need keep all written correspondence about the defects. You cannot breach the contract or contravene the law, i.e. not withholding the last month rent, but I understand your concerns.
I don’t think you have any claims in terms of damages against him, since you really haven’t suffered damages (yet). Your landlord has simply not complied with the landlord obligations according to your lease and hence you may terminate early after notifying him of his breach. I suggest you obtain legal advise first, before terminating the lease.
Hope this helps.
Michael
Hi, I have a similar problem than Keegan wit our rental property and landlord, although I won’t with hold any rental. I have pictures, e-mail complaints all in writing to the land lord. She claimed she didn’t know her unit floods every time it rains. This is now 8 months ago, with empty promises to repair and half done jobs.
I did ask the landlord if I can move out of the property , as this is under water most of the time she agreed but is withholding my deposit of R19 500, my rental is only R13 000. She confirmed verbally at the time before we signed the rental agreement that R13 000 is the portion of the deposit from the rental and the other R6 500 is a water and electricity deposit. But this split is nowhere mentioned in the rental agreement, can she withhold the full R19 500 ??
Then I would like to institute a claim against her in the small claims court for R12 000, we are paying R13 000 rental for a 4 bedroom unit and a store room, however the bedroom and the store room has been under water for the past 8 months and I seek compensation for paying rental on rooms in a house that is unsave as it’s flooded most of the time how would you suggest I quantify the claim?
Best regards
Emm
Hi Emm,
Thanks for your email. Your landlord is in breach of contract and hence you enforce rights including the early termination of the lease due to failure of the landlord remedying her breach.
I suggest you lodge a complaint at the Rental Housing Tribunal.
Thanks
Michael
hi, we rent commercial property. Does the depoit refund + interest still apply? The buliding was sold while we were there. I am not sure whether the deposit was in interest account. Is new landlord obligated by law to pay deposit with interest for the 15 years we’ve been there? And what rate is used?
Thanks
Hi Rance,
A commercial lease does not have to comply with the provisions of the Rental Housing Act. In other words, it is common law or commercial law. Therefore, to answer your questions, you need to consult your lease what is says or makes provision for with regards to the deposit and interest thereon.
If so, then it also stipulates how the interest rate is determined, i.e. based on the standard savings rate from a bank, etc.
Hope this helps.
Michael
Editor,
I have signed a rental contract for 12 months,starting Dec 2010.I have asked for a 6months contract due to the fact that i told them during this time i am looking to buy.They said no problem,they would just get someone else to take over my contract by that time.Now I bought a house and gave them notice last month(june). The landlord told me that I am going to pay R800 penalty fees + agent commision for the the remaining 4 months unless i find someone to take over my contract.Now I have done that,got a new tenant.The landlord phoned me this morning and told me that I am still going to loose the money,I told him that is crap. He phoned me back and said he would not take of the R800 bridge of contract but the 4months remaining agent commision which is R640x4 he will deduct from my deposit.This does not sound right to me? Please help.
Jp
Hi JP,
Thanks for your email. Well, the lease cancellation fee of R800 you may well be liable for depending what your lease says. However, with the commission I agree with you. You have found a replacement tenant as per your lease and hence you have fulfilled your obligation.
I suggest you lodge a complaint against your landlord at the Rental Housing Tribunal.
Hope this helps.
Michael
Hi,
I have not invested my tenant’s deposit in an interest bearing account. How much do I need to refund her? She paid R4500 deposit & has resided at the property for 18 months.
Thanks
Hi Tracey,
Thanks for your email. You need to calculate the interest rate for the prevailing years. You can contact you bank and ask for the interest rate and the various products on offer. Then you must calculate the compound interest on the deposit for the last 18 months.
Hope this helps.
Michael
Hi
I rented a flat form 1 March 2005 and paid R500.00 deposit together with my first rental amount. I gave 1 month’s notice on 31 May 2011 as per our contract and moved out of the premises on 30 Junie 2011.
The Lessor refuses to pay back the deposit and also fails to give any reason why, in spite of my requests. (There is no damages to his property) I have now also learned that he is suppose to pay the amount back with interest, which is not stipulated in the contract.
How do I calculate the interest on this amount?
I was planning on taking the matter to the small claims court. Is that the best way to go?
Regards
Karen
Hi Karen,
Thanks for your email. You are entitled to your deposit refund within 7 days of the expiry of the lease. You are also entitled to interest. You calculate the interest monthly in arrears using the interest quoted by any retail bank for a money market or call account.
I suggest you lodge a complain against your landlord at the Rental Housing Tribunal to resolve the matter.
Hope this helps.
Michael
HI
I would like to know how to work out the interest on an account, the money was not put into a interest bearing account, but left in the business account.
Tenant moved in 1 march 2008 and vacated 31 march 2011. Please show me how to calculate this. thank you!!!
Hi, i have just moved out of a flat. The Estate Agency refunded my deposit without any Interest. They only deducted the Lights and water bill for the last month.
The lease does not say anything about Deposit being kept in an interest account.
How do i go about getting the Interest?
This is what my landlord suggests our interest should be after 30 months of renting with him.
First of all i would like to enquire with you regarding;
1) The interest rate apllicable as .95% seems very low
2) Is the interest compounded monthly?
3) The interest rate should not be lower than a savings account according to law?
You’re expertise regarding this matter would be greatly appreciated.
What follows is the e-mail from the agent:
This is not a savings account since the movement of funds in the account are frequent and no long term fixed sum is held in the account, other than the rental deposits (short term), the interest is minimal at .95% per annum.
The interest calculated as follows:
1)Deposit 1 May 2009 to 31 December 2009 R 5300.00 (M Wheelwright) Interest @ .95 p/annum
Interest for 6 months R25.15
2) Deposit 01 January 2010 to 31 October 2011 R5830.00 interest @ .95 p/annum
Interest for 22 months R101.55
Interest due R126.70
Good day
Please can someone help me with the correct contact details for the Rental Housing Tribunal; all the contacts I can find on the web don’t get answered?
Thanks
Hi,
my landlady (who I have reported to the rental housing tribunal is refusing to show me official proof of deposit lodgement. She is presenting me with a homemade receipt showing interest. As the unit is for sale and this woman is using any pretext to keep it I wish to see “written proof” as per section 5 3 (d) of the housing act. She says what she has given me is sufficient. I am saying it is not. This is a receipt, not written proof and I want proof of interest accrued.
Does she have to show me an official bank statement if I request it? She refuses and says that the tribunal will decide. Please advise if she must show me the bank statement that I request. This woman does not have it rented.
Regards,
Dave
We have entered a rental agreement in June 2003, paid a month and half rental deposit of R3600. The landlord did not hand over the flat to us, he presented my husband with keys and when we arrived, we found the flat in an appauling state. We were despearate to move as the flat we rented was sold and I had just had a baby of 1 month. We had cleaned the flat, painted and maintained what was presented to us. Now the landlord wants us to fix what he did not fix in the first place and refused to give our deposit back. I have complained to the Rental Tribunal and have a case coming up. Could you firstly help me with the interest calculation from May 03 to oct 2011 and advice on how to best represent this case at Tribunal.
Hi.
Im Having some Trouble with my landlord. First he wated to give use 15 day notice to be out of the house.. Since I Showed him the consumer protection act. that he needs to give me 60 days notice. he has back down from that and change the notice to Dec 2012 and not 2011 anymore witch I can live with. Now he demands that there is a R500 short fall on the Deposit( the deposit was R4300 when we started rent and rent went up to R4800) He now demands that we pay the R500 Short fall on the deposit.. Can he Do this? Should I pay this Deposit?
Thanks
Michael
Hi Michael
I would like to know the following:
A person pays a penalty and late payment on rent for late payment but it only happened a few months and it was paid together with the rent ( REnt R4300 and penalty R438) so paid a total of approx R4800 rent.
When moving out, no problem with notice period and no damages at all, the landlord wants to keep some of the security deposit back because of the late payments in the past, but surely this can’t be done, as the tenant already paid the penalty and late payment admin fee with the rent?? Landlord says you were a poor payer so I will penalise you with your deposit.
Can he do this?
Thanks
Karen
Hi
Section 5(3)(d) of the Rental Housing Act provides that a landlord must refund a tenant’s deposit + applicable interest. The section further states that where the landlord is a registered estate agent, the deposit should be dealt with in accordance with the Estate Agency Affairs Act.
Is the agent also liable for interest on my deposit in terms of that Act?
What varying rates of interest should be applied to an R8000 rental deposit by a tenant from 1st July 2008 to 31st Jan 2012 ?
If you can supply the relevant interest rates I can calculate
Thanks
Good day,
I have signed a lease agreement directly with an owner which commences 1 March 2012. I was requested to pay a deposit equivalent to 1 months rental by no later than 10 February 2012, which I duly did. When I e-mailed proof of payment to the landlord, I requested him to hold the deposit in an interest bearing account. His response was follows:
“Never done it before will never do it. The deposit you are supplying is not for the purpose of tenant accrueing interest. No one has ever made that request before.”
I would like to revert to him quoting the Rental Housing Act of 1999, clause 5(d). Is the Act still valid and am I within my rights to do this. He thinks I am trying to be difficult. I really like the place and do not want to run the risk of losing it.
Dear Lerisha,
Thanks for your email. The Act is still in force and this is one of the landlords obligations. Therefore, you are absolutely correct.
You can register a dispute with the Rental Housing Tribunal and settle the matter this way if the landlord does not want to comply with your request and the ACT.
Hope this helps.
Michael
Hi, we signed a 12month lease on 01 Oct 2011, the landlord prematurely cancelled her lease and we moved out 27 Feb 2012, we knew that she could not just cancel her lease but we did not want to cause any conflict so we moved. We did an inspection of the place on 27 Feb and no damages were found, so we were owed our full deposit refund. it is now the 12 March and we still have not received our deposit. How long can the landlord take to pay back our deposit if there were no damages to repair, and what do i do if she does not pay us our deposit. She told the agent that she did the payment 4 days ago, but there is no payment reflecting.
Good day,
I have declared a dispute with the rental agency I am renting from with regards to maintenance not done if and when faults are reported. Being fed-up with this, I kept back the rental payment upon which I received a notice for evacuation of the property by end of Feb.
I then declared a dispute with the Rental Housing Tribunal to get the agency and the landlord to do the necessary maintenance. For example, there is a major fault with the electricity, so much so, that the light in one of the bedrooms has not been working since November 2011.
At the tribunal meeting on 24 Feb, it was resolved that the evacuation notice was not legal, but the agency signed on behalf of the landlord for certain repairs to be done by the 15th of March and others by 30 April. Shortly after this meeting, I received an e-mail from the rental agency stating that the owner is not prepared to renew our lease after I indicated in the tribunal meeting that I would like to renew the lease at the end of May and also undertook to pay future rent monies on time (1st of each month).
Up to now, no maintenance, as set out in the tribunal agreement, has been done and I do not foresee for the maintenance to be completed as set out in the agreement.
What do I stand to do now?
Hi, I am planning to move into another place 1 May. I need my deposit for the new place and so am thinking of using my rent money end March to pay the deposit on another place in order to secure it. I would then tell my land lady to keep my deposit as my last month’s rent. Can she legally object to this? Since I stay on her property she can come and look if there are any damages at any time. I have been in my current place for 3 years so would she still have to pay the interest on my deposit? Please advise.
Goodday, the deposit I paid for the rental house has not been in an interest bearing account. The LL has now numerous claims against the contract, can I stipulate the above as on as well?
Regards
Hi There
We moved in to a trental place a year ago and got a letter from the agent to pay an top up on our deposit , can you also check for me if they are registard agents please the are lady bug agents they said they changed their name to lady bug agents
Regards
Joggie grobler
I have been renting a flat for 18 months and am now moving out. My landlord is a friend of mine and she has just found out she was supposed to put my R5000 deposit in an interest bearing account which she did not do. She says she will happily pay it all to me, but doesnt know how to work it out, and nor do I!
What would the interest be on R5000 over 18 months? Please help!
Dear Kelly,
Thanks for your email. You can calculate the interest as follows:
R5,000 x 4%= R5,200 (12 months)
R5,200 x 2%= R5,304 (for 6 months)
interest R304 for 18 months.
You need to agree on a interest rate. Call your bank and ask the rate you would have gotten on a call or money market account.
Hope this helps.
Michael
Hi
My landlord is evicting my boyfriend and I for late payments.Does he keep the deposit?
Thanks
Please could you confirm who is liable to retain proof of deposit.
I have been living in the property since December 2004, however due to relocating, gave a months notice end of December 2012 to vacate end January 2012. In our notice letter we stated that we will be deducting the deposit amount of R3000 from our current rent of R4500 and will pay the balance of R1500. We also stated that the interest on the deposit could be paid to us later and should requested they contact us should things not be in order. No further communication was received from landlord.
After we had moved, the bookkeeper of the landlord contacted us requesting a copy of our lease (which was in storage due to our move) and proof of the R3000 deposit we paid (cash). We no longer have the receipt.
I would assume that due to the fact that they can not confirm how much deposit we paid, the deposit was never paid into an Interest bearing account.
The deposit amount reflects on the lease which they can not find. Can they withhold our interest due to us not proving them with the receipt?
We recently moved out of rented property, after a back and forth between us and the agent she referred us to the owner. After inquiring on status of deposit when we can expect it we finally received it. Now the fight starts when we received their summary of assessment of what is deducted etc we find they did not pay us any interest. We queried this and now the landlord response is that our interest will be used to offset the late payments we made ito rent. Yes we had 2 occasions where we paid late but should they not have enforced their right then, now only when we claiming the interest now do they want to claim late payments. We have the statement of summary received from Landlord and no mention was made of the late payment charge that they will be charging. Are they in right to now claim late payment penalties since its not mentioned in their summary
It just seems that this landlord has been “croocking” a lot tenants out of their interest. Can I request the account details, bank statement etc of where the money was deposited/invested.
They charged us a breakage amount for a damaged door which we agreed on an amount to be debited now they want to add an additional amount because they did not include the purchasing of the door in the breakage claim. The amount they want is way out of line with the norm, seeing that the door is not repaired yet can we request that we will repair it and then the landlord just refunds us the amount they charged for breakage.
Your response is appreciated
Hi there
We have been renting our house since February 2011. About 10 months into us staying there it was brought under our attention that the house will be sold. We have not signed a new contract and therefore are staying month by month. Now we have found out that the house is being repossessed. The sheriff of the court told me that once the auction boards are put up we do not have to pay rent until the house is sold. This is all well I’m not paying the agent the money, but my question is what happens to my deposit? Do I demand this back once those boards are put up or what. The Agents are very scaly if i can put it that way we were kept in the dark the whole time. We paid our rent every month and this is how they treated us. I need some assistance for we need to start looking for new houses but this will be a story and a half with regards to the deposit. Also will i still receive the interest on the deposit that they owe or not? I heard that because the bank took back the house that the agent must pay my full deposit back, they have no say on the house anymore so should something lets say like the carpet got a burn mark that this is not my problem anymore and they cannot deduct that from the deposit, is this true? Oh sorry and one last question, does the agent still have the right to bring people to look at the house even if the house has been taken back by the bank?
your quickest response would be much appreciated
thank you
Please help
We moved out of our place because of the noice and all the people the landlord tried to fill the estate with, We have cleaned the place but now they are not happy, my husband went and repainted the place now, but they find fault with the way he painted thge place, its 15 days now and i havent received my deposit back yet, and taking him to small claims court now, please give me advice, and what is my rights.
Regards
Elmarie
goodday
we recently moved into a rental house thourgh a rental agent. i signed the rental contract that stated the lease period of 12 months. after a month i requisted my copy of signed contract. the rental agent emailed me a copy and i noticed that the owner of property cancelled the lease period of 12 months to 3 months without informing me thus the ammendents is only signed by the one party and not both, is this legal?
What is the interest rate I can legally charge for overdue rental, if no interest rate was stipulated in the original lease agreement? The lease is for rental of farm land, in the Eastern Cape.
Hi. At the end of our lease the landlord decided to pay only a portion of the deposit back. This is based on our initial conditions of premises form which we completed. The new tenants have completed the same form now however have added a number of additional items which we never thought where necessary. Based on this the landlord has not paid our full deposit and has not shown what the balance has been used for. In addition, the new tenenats have told me that contractors have come to look at the windows to quote for repairs (which i had mentioned in the conditons of premises form). No quotations for any repair items nor a breakdown of the balance has been show. The contract includes interest on the deposit but the rate is not known.
What interest rate should be used for a 12 month period?
Am I entiteld to a full deposit if the agency nor landlord have done a walk through the premises between myself and new tenant?
Am i entitled to see a breakdown of the balance of deposit?
Dear editor
I am moving into a new place at the end of the month. The contract says the deposit will be kept in a trust until the termination of the lease. The deposit shall not bear any interest. Is this right? It also says that the deposit will be paid back after 21 days. Is this also right.
Regards,
Losi
I would like some assistance with regards to a property that I have rented. I have vacated the property at the end of September, and provided them with the one month advance notice. It is one month later that they come back demanding damages to the property after they have been taking people in and out of the property for viewings. Can they do this? Is it legal?
What timeframe does the agent/Lessor have to demand damages on the property after you have left?
Please assist.
After leaving a property and providing them with one months notice, they are charging us penalty fees and also charging us for problems that we already on the entry inspection, they now can not find the entry inspection and drew up their own one, which in my opinion is fraud.
people have been in and out of the property and 31 days later they come to us with further damages, and charge us exhobarent charges for damages tthat were not our fault.
They now also stating that ur deposit will not be paid back to us, but instead into their trust.
It is 47 days later and we still have not received our depoist back and now they are asking for us to pay in more than what was due to us.
Can they do this?
Dear editor, we rented a factory for 7 years, we paid a deposit over to the landlord of R2400.00, how do I calculate the interest for 7 years on this amount in order that I may send a letter to the landlord so that he can pay us this money back, as to date he not even bothered to communicate us in this regard. pls advise, thanking you in advance
Hi
I am in the process of a case against my previous Landlady that has now refused to refund the balance of my deposit, even though at the first meeting she said she would. My case has taken almost a year & is now going to a hearing.
When we moved out, I kept trying to make a time to meet with the Landlady to return
the one back door key that we had and collect my deposit balance, but she kept making excuses, that she’s waiting for her account to open, she not home, then finally I received a call from a Lady claiming to be calling on her behalf & said
if we don’t return the key that day she will claim another months rent. (This was about 10 days after we moved out) We returned the key immediately but still did not get my deposit back, which is why I went to the housing tribunal, but they are unhelpful & don’t answer my questions.
The Landlady also did have access to the property before I gave the key back.
Is she allowed to attempt to claim more rent ? Is it fair, as she avoided my attempts to meet her and return the key ?
Thank you
Dawn
Hi
I am sitting with a huge problem and I am not sure what to do.
First of all, I am renting a ground floor apartment (the house is situated at the foot of a mountain in a coastal area) which I am renting via an estate agent. I have a good relationship with both the agent and the Landlord but currently I am facing a Mouldy problem. My contract clearly states that I am not liable for any building defects or geyser burst but I am not sure if this is also included as ‘building defects / construction issues?’
The apartment has wooden floors except the bathroom, which is tiled and I can visibly see the damage on the floor and the walls.
There is mould growing: in the cupboard below the kitchen sink, in the bathroom along the wall and behind the toilet, in my living area where I also sleep, in my cupboard I can see that there are small strips of moisture running along the sides as if water is seeping through from below and as a result, all my coats and clothes got damaged, and in the living area, there is wooden skirting running along the wall which is being pushed away from the wall; the most visible damage is seen below my cupboards and is ranging in the colours from White to Black on the floor and Yellow to Green on the walls.
During the winter / rainy weather, I notice that that the problem flares up more rapidly.
I have informed both the landlord and the agent of the problem, but every time the landlord tries to rectify the problem, it only gets worse. I have also asked the agent numerous times to send an expert to assess the damage but nothing came of it.
Now the mould has infected all my garments and my shoes and I am afraid the mould-dust is all over my belongings. I have to wash all my clothes myself and will have to send my coats to the drycleaners. I have also thrown away many belongings, clothes and will have to do so with my shoes as I cannot save them.
Please advise what I must do as I cannot cope with the problem and I don’t want to ruin my relations with the Landlord nor with the agent.
Thank you for the assistance.
I own a number of properties, the deposits of which are all sitting in my personal investment account togetherwith my own savings. I know I need to keep them in seperate accounts but have spoken to two banks who cannot help me. Even my private banker has never heard of such a thing.
Can you advise what kind of account it is that would ringfence each deposit and individually calculate the interest. Perhaps I am asking for the wrong thing.
Thank you
Hi Wendy,
Thanks for your email. You need to open an savings, call, or money market account in your name, but beneficiary your tenants name. You will have open an account like per tenant.
Hope this helps.
Michael