Law-Forums.org

[jorel]

We had verbal agreement when we rented the rooms that we need to give 1 month notice before leaving the house and he would return the deposit. But now he says 1 month notice is not enough you should had told me before 2 3 months before its very hard to find a tenant in1 month blah blah.. and i don't have the money now to give your guys!! we had a long argument and then he said since we don't have a written agreement i can also say you guys didn't gave me any deposit at the time i rented your this apartment.

At last he agreed that he would give us our deposit after we leave the house after some days. But once we leave the house im sure we cant take our deposit as we dont have any written agreement. Does the law says that the landlord will only return deposit after some days form the tenants leaving the house? And can we have any written proof from him to return our deposit after we leave the house??

Im just a student with absolute no knowledge of these things and i dont know my rights regarding this matter and how to claim it. I would be very thankful if some one could guide me with this problem

waiting for a response,

regards..

[cumhea]

Bring him to court and sue him, you are legally entitled ti get your money back

[marq]

Just don't pay your last few months rent.

[pascoe69]

Without a contract it's your word against his...don't try suing it'll cost you far more...write the deposit off and start again elsewhere...never leave anything as important as housing covered by a verbal agreement.

[boynton35]

Unfortunately, you'll most likely need a lawyer. Hopefully you kept some kind of record that you paid and how much.

[nissim42]

Sue him. Verbal agreement means nothing, state law means everything. 30 days notice is sufficient in most states.

You have a receipt of some kind for your deposit right? You can fo course prove you paid it.

"And can we have any written proof from him to return our deposit after we leave the house?? " - If you can get him to sign something....which you won't get him to do.

[sylvester37]

Normally you don't get your deposit back until you move out. The landlord has to have time to check over the house or apartment and make sure that everything is still in good order. He does not have to give your deposit back. If he decides that you damaged his property for example broke a window or put holes in the walls he can keep part or all of your deposit to make the repairs. If he says he is going to give it back after you move out I would ask for it in writing. If he refuses then most likely he is not planning on returning at all. There is not much you can do if he doesn't give it back because a verbal agreement doesn't hold up very well in court unless there were witnesses that are not affiliated with in any way and even then its still really hard. My advice is from now on is get everything in writing before you move in. Or exchange any money with anyone. Also get receipts and keep them.

[culley96]

This should be a lesson on your part not to just agree on verbal agreements. Nowadays it's very important to have a written agreement due to cases of people's poor way of living. If the landlord cannot bring the money back then you can have another agreement with him to instead use another one month rent to finish things off. Most agreements come up with one month deposit and one month advance, the one month deposit is to make sure the landlord can pay any left bills left by the tenants or payment for any fixtures damaged during the time the room had been occupied.

[spengler]

In UK law a verbal agreement is binding. If you are paying rent for the use of a room, you have a contract, and common law is binding.

Does the landlord live in the same house? If he doesn't then you have a standard assured shorthold tenancy on a periodic basis, and you can give one months notice (which starts at the beginning of the term, normally the rental payment date).

Any money received by the landlord should have been registered with a deposit protection scheme, and he can be fined 3 months rent if he fails to protect that bond, and thus guarantee it cannot be withheld without evidence damage has been caused.

If the landlord is resident at the property, you have a common law agreement and you may pursue your bond through the courts.
https://www.moneyclaim.gov.uk/web/mcol/welcome

Either way, one months notice is sufficient either way.

Anyone who says verbal agreement means nothing is talking out their backside. You can prove you pay rent (hopefully you aren't paying cash, or if you are, you get receipts) and you have access to the property, you can prove you have a contract in place in line with the Housing Act or Common Law.

Speak to the Citizens Advice Bureau about taking further action.

[eliot]

he knew what he was doing when you made that verbal agreement, he had no intention of paying it back to you...
a friend of mine had same problem here in the uk, unfortunately (for the landlord) the windows all got smashed 1 night (no witnesses) he had a alibi as to where he was and witnesses to back him up, so landlord couldn't blame him..think it cost landlord about 3 grand to replace windows as he wasn'tt insured either.
not saying you should smash his windows, just think karma's a *****, and 1 way or another it will catch up with your landlord in time.
good luck :-D


BETTER STILL, DONT PAY THE ****** ANY RENT !!