Sacked UK agent - now they witholding tenant deposit!

I am at my wits end! Today I finally had enough of my current letting agent and terminated their services and instructed a new agency. They have now sent me an email claiming I owe them commission for the remainder of the tenancy agreement and until I finalise the account they will not release the tenant's deposit.

They claim to be registered with Tenancy Deposit Scheme. I have done some quick research with the TDS website and I will be calling them tomorrow to get their opinion but in the meantime I am hoping that there may be someone on AAM who can give me some advice. As far as I am concerned, the dispute is between myself and the old letting agent and not the tenant so they should not suffer because of this.

Any opinions anyone would be much appreciated.

Kind regards

LL

Also, would anyone be able to recommend a good solicitor in Liverpool area to deal with this?

LouthLass said:

As far as I am concerned, the dispute is between myself and the old letting agent and not the tenant so they should not suffer because of this.

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Absolutely [assuming it is an Assured Shorthold Tenancy that came into effect after 6th April 2007]. Any dispute between the landlord and the agent has nothing to do with the tenant. see

Martin77 said:

Absolutely [assuming it is an Assured Shorthold Tenancy that came into effect after 6th April 2007]. Any dispute between the landlord and the agent has nothing to do with the tenant. see

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Yes Martin, it is an AST which came into affect Nov 08. From my understanding of your link and my own research, my tenant is fully entitled to claim back the deposit and pass over to the new agent but the old agent has indicated they will not release it - this has nothing to do with tenant and the last thing I want is for her to be dragged into the middle of this!!

If they insist on this course of action then I will have no option but to go the legal route - last thing I want but I feel that they are chancing their arm at this stage!

LouthLass said:

They claim to be registered with Tenancy Deposit Scheme. I have done some quick research with the TDS website and I will be calling them tomorrow to get their opinion but in the meantime I am hoping that there may be someone on AAM who can give me some advice.

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The way this usually works is that agent receives the deposit from the tenant and then pays it over to the landlord within a day or two of receiving it. The landlord then pays the money over to the Tenancy Deposit Scheme and is given an account number. The tenant is also made aware that the money has been deposited there. It is usually the landlords responsibility to pay the money over, not the agents. Good agents will always recommend that they landlord does this and normally agents should not hold onto the deposit themselves.

Steve D said:

The way this usually works is that agent receives the deposit from the tenant and then pays it over to the landlord within a day or two of receiving it. The landlord then pays the money over to the Tenancy Deposit Scheme and is given an account number. The tenant is also made aware that the money has been deposited there. It is usually the landlords responsibility to pay the money over, not the agents. Good agents will always recommend that they landlord does this and normally agents should not hold onto the deposit themselves.

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Steve D - as you said 'Good Agents' would do this - I made a big mistake with these agents, they are not good agents, I never received a deposit, the original tenancy agreement states the agent received the deposit and they registered it with the TDS, I never saw it! I have sent them a reply to their original email requesting under what legal basis they are witholding the deposit so I can instruct my solicitor and also that I can contact TDS direct with notification of the dispute - hopefully this shall be enough to scare them into releasing it. I have also realised that they do not have a signed copy of the tenancy agreement on which they are basing their claim - does this mean they have no basis for the demand for commission?

Kind regards

LL

If the agent placed the deposit with the TDS on your behalf, you should have had a letter (or an e-mail) from the TDS confirming that they have received the deposit and giving you a user ID number. If you have not received this, the likelihood is that that the agent is holding the deposit and has not put it with the TDS.

The very fact that the tenants are in place, and have been introduced to you by them, would probably be enough for them to be able to claim their commission. Did you negotiaite a commission rate with the agent? Do you have anything about the agreed rate of commission in writing?

The fact that the tenancy agreement has not been signed is due to the negligence of the estate agents, so you may be able to make a claim on them for this.