landlord not returning my first months deposit

A V A

i moved out of my apartment a month ago and it was clean top to bottom and it was left n better condition than when i first moved in.the apartment was viewed by the landlord and the property was deemed in great condition.i went to citizens advice and they said that the deposit was to be returned promptly , i then took this info to my land lord and she said that the property group i was letting from had 30 days to return my deposit , i argued that there was no reason for them to hold on to that money after all it was mine and there was absolutely no reason for them to hold it for the whole 30 days, she showed in my contract i signed that it did say they have 30 days to return the deposit. by that point i accepted that once i got it back, but its now 3 days over a month since iv moved out of the last place and i still havent received my deposit back. obviously it my first mission to get that back but is there anyway of me taking this further ?? small claims court?

i would love to see other people's view on this or past incidents that may help me

also ods if this is in the wrong place ,could you move it to wheres suitable

thanks

retroactive

PRTB?

Procrastastudy

This one is so new its never happened to anyone before - you wont find a single thread using the search function... oh hang on.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=54865085

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=78674842

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=73902659

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=74640779

Contact the PRTB.

charlemont

Its a very common problem, Some but not all landlords and letting agencies try to keep deposits.

Try Threshold ( if not already mentioned )

McCrack

It's 3 days over but its a Monday of a bank holiday. You may get it tomorrow. If not ask for it. I would only then suggest contacting the PRTB for advice.

seb65

Our first rented apartment, we moved out and the apartment was in much better condition than when we moved in. It was filthy actually.

Our landlord kept the deposit for a month as he had had a lot of expenses come up all of a sudden. Which begs the question - why did he ever think this was his money to spend in the first place? In reality, this money was held in trust. In Canada, landlords are required to give you a return, yearly, on your deposit at the prevailing interest rate. i.e., this money should be in a bank account collecting interest. Can you imagine the $$ letting agents make if they hold a number of damage deposits?

We did get the deposit back though.

I think the government should be lobbied for a similar provision-that money is held in an account until tenant moves out-to be put in place in Ireland.

A V A

McCrack wrote: »

It's 3 days over but its a Monday of a bank holiday. You may get it tomorrow. If not ask for it. I would only then suggest contacting the PRTB for advice.

but if it was the case of a bank holiday ,is it not their prerogative to make sure the moneys transferred that bit early so that it doesnt run into my account. in the contract it does say they've 30 days to return my deposit but 3 days late due to a bank holiday is not my problem!!!

A V A

i gave it time, and iv just been to the bank to get statements to see if has been transferred but theres no sign of it atall. iv been out of my previous place since the 4th of july and its now the 7th so i hardly think the moneys going to be there today by the bank closes or by tomorrow, so it will be 4 days over, so they're holding money thats not their's which they have no reason to hold!! i'll be ringing prtb first thing tomorrow !!!!!!!!!!!!

BornToKill

A V A wrote: »

i'll be ringing prtb first thing tomorrow !!!!!!!!!!!!

The PRTB should be able to assist you alright. Unless things have greatly changed though, don't expect immediate action. PRTB timescales are months rather than hours.

A V A

cut backs effected threshold ,so they might effect

thinking about going small claims court with this ,the property/agent group im with now are so suprised and annoyed at this and said i could have a strong case

at the start of the month rent was taken out of my account when it shouldnt have, took 3 weeks getting it back, and on top of that the lettin agent tried saying that they didnt take it from my account, then on top of that when they where proven wrong said they told me whilst they were on the phone to me that i ave the wrong bank details!! they agent even cursed at me also sayin she didnt have time to deal with the situation!!! so this is adding to it, they're simply just taking the p*ss

MagicSean

BornToKill wrote: »

The PRTB should be able to assist you alright. Unless things have greatly changed though, don't expect immediate action. PRTB timescales are months rather than hours.

The first question they would ask would likely be "What did they say about the delay?" to which the op would have to reply, "I havent actually contacted them. I posted on boards though."

A V A

have actually contacted them, a few times, first direct to the my landlord ,it took me a few times to get through after ringing ringing directly to the letting agent , think they let her know, and they simply just said we have 30 days to return the deposit ,they'll be 4 days late tomorow and realistically i wont receive that money till next week if i was to hassle them first thing tomorow

odds_on

A V A wrote: »

cut backs effected threshold ,so they might effect

thinking about going small claims court with this ,the property/agent group im with now are so suprised and annoyed at this and said i could have a strong case

You MUST go through the PRTB in this instance. The PRTB was set up to take the workload off the courts.

Have you put your concerns in writing?

If you have not, then put it in writing that your deposit should be returned by a certain date (give them 3 days) and failure to do so, you will make a claim with the PRTB, not only for the full deposit but also for damages for with-holding the deposit unjustifiably, inconvenience, upset, distress, and anxiety.

Procrastastudy

odds_on wrote: »

You MUST go through the PRTB in this instance. The PRTB was set up to take the workload off the courts.

Have you put your concerns in writing?

If you have not, then put it in writing that your deposit should be returned by a certain date (give them 3 days) and failure to do so, you will make a claim with the PRTB, not only for the full deposit but also for damages for with-holding the deposit unjustifiably, inconvenience, upset, distress, and anxiety.

IMO (not legal advice) Stuff in bold = good idea. Stuff in italics makes you look like a Muppet. Also I would suggest not writing the letter with ridiculous punctuation either!!!!!!!!!??!????!????!!!!,,,,,,,.........!

schemingbohemia

They've probably delayed it because you went demanding the deposit before the 30 days was up contrary to the contract that you signed.

MagicSean

A V A wrote: »

have actually contacted them, a few times, first direct to the my landlord ,it took me a few times to get through after ringing ringing directly to the letting agent , think they let her know, and they simply just said we have 30 days to return the deposit ,they'll be 4 days late tomorow and realistically i wont receive that money till next week if i was to hassle them first thing tomorow

You can try and justify your inaction all you want. The fact remains that you will have to contact them and find out why they have not paid.

odds_on

schemingbohemia wrote: »

They've probably delayed it because you went demanding the deposit before the 30 days was up contrary to the contract that you signed.

The RTA 2004, Part 2, Ch 1 S.12 (d)

subject to subsection (4), return or repay promptly any deposit paid by the tenant to the landlord on entering into the agreement for the tenancy or lease,

IMHO, a clause in a lease stating that the deposit will be returned after 30 days does not satisfy the above section of the RTA 2004. 30 days, I believe, is not "promptly".

In many PRTB dispute resolutions, the settlement date is either within 7 or 14 days.

PRTB Dispute DR151/2009

The Respondent Landlord shall pay the sum of €1,625.00 to the Applicant Tenant, within 7 days of the date of issue of this Order, being the unjustifiably retained security deposit of €800.00, €25.00 fee for dispute resolution and €800.00 damages for upset, distress and inconvenience caused to the Applicant Tenant

A V A

finally got through to them, they said they are now deciding when to return the money, i have tried politly to deal with them but they where down right rude!!!! also they said they are now decideing after 30 days, my landlord said clearly that she has within 30 days to return my deposit which has not been done. im now in the middle of writing letters by myself demanding that i get my money back and they have 7 days to do so!! got this advice from threshold and they said i have a strong case with this one!! its now going on 5 weeks since iv been moved out of the old addres and today i was told i can bring this issue further

A V A

odds_on wrote: »

The RTA 2004, Part 2, Ch 1 S.12 (d) IMHO, a clause in a lease stating that the deposit will be returned after 30 days does not satisfy the above section of the RTA 2004. 30 days, I believe, is not "promptly".

In many PRTB dispute resolutions, the settlement date is either within 7 or 14 days.

PRTB Dispute DR151/2009

your dead right!! over 30 days is not promptly atall ,i dont under stand why they have held it for so long!! they have no reason!!! also when i was on the phone to day i was asked for details of bills etc because they wanted to register a tennants thats obviously moved in , now thats just taking the p*SSS

Jev/N

They're holding it as they're hoping to just fob you off by constant delay and that'll you'll give up - keep at them but do it by the book

odds_on

A V A wrote: »

your dead right!! over 30 days is not promptly atall ,i dont under stand why they have held it for so long!! they have no reason!!! also when i was on the phone to day i was asked for details of bills etc because they wanted to register a tennants thats obviously moved in , now thats just taking the p*SSS

If you have copies of any texts, dates of phone calls or anything to back up that you have been requesting the return of your deposit, forget about giving them 7 more days to pay and advise them that you are now making a claim with the PRTB. You do need evidence that you have been requesting the return of your deposit.

BornToKill

odds_on wrote: »

In many PRTB dispute resolutions, the settlement date is either within 7 or 14 days.

How long to get a hearing though?

odds_on

BornToKill wrote: »

How long to get a hearing though?

How long is a piece of string?

BornToKill

odds_on wrote: »

How long is a piece of string?

I think string is mostly 6-8 months. Not great for someone in a hurry.

odds_on

BornToKill wrote: »

I think string is mostly 6-8 months. Not great for someone in a hurry.

6-8 months - if you're lucky!
However, any claim should be accompanied by a claim for damages including loss of use of the value of the deposit money as well as inconvenience, stress, anxiety, etc.

giant_midget

odds_on wrote: »

How long is a piece of string?

from one end to the middle multiplied by 2....

Procrastastudy

odds_on wrote: »

6-8 months - if you're lucky!
However, any claim should be accompanied by a claim for damages including loss of use of the value of the deposit money as well as inconvenience, stress, anxiety, etc.

Its a flippin' contract claim - how is he going to claim for stress and anxiety? I'm pretty sure mental distress is awarded in contract cases in very rare and specific instances.

Interest yes.

234

Procrastastudy wrote: »

Its a flippin' contract claim - how is he going to claim for stress and anxiety? I'm pretty sure mental distress is awarded in contract cases in very rare and specific instances.

Interest yes.

Perhaps they should say they couldn't go on a holiday they booked because of the loss

Procrastastudy

234 wrote: »

Perhaps they should say they couldn't go on a holiday they booked because of the loss

Love it!

odds_on

Procrastastudy wrote: »

Its a flippin' contract claim - how is he going to claim for stress and anxiety? I'm pretty sure mental distress is awarded in contract cases in very rare and specific instances.

Interest yes.

Damages for inconvenience, upset, distress, and anxiety are regularly awarded in PRTB disputes where the deposit has been unjustifiably retained by a landlord.

See the example of a dispute adjudication in post #17

the_syco

A V A wrote: »

today i was told i can bring this issue further

Oh, how very nice of them :rolleyes:

F**k 'em.

Tell them you'll be bringing them to the small claims court for breach of contract, and that you'll be letting you local newspaper hear the entire story.

BornToKill

I presume the OP was told that by Threshold rather than by the person who has retained the deposit.

okiss

I would ring the landlord and tell him that you will be bring this to the small claims court if you don't get your money back in the next 7 days.
Is your landlord on the prtb register?
Do you think he/she has been paying tax on there rental income they got from you?
I know a guy a few years ago who lived in a student town in Ireland.
The landlord he had was really bad. He did not fix things that were broken in the house and he would not give back the months deposit.
This guy asked all his friends do you know (the landlord)? Do you know if he owns any other places?
Within a few days he found out the properties this guy owned & how he treated all his renters.
He rang the revenue and give them all this information.
If you find out your place is not the the prtb register I would ring the landlord and tell them if you don't get your deposit back you will ring revenue.

BornToKill

Seeing as the landlord is letting through what was described as a property group (an agency I presume), the letting is almost certainly registered with the PRTB. As already mentioned, the recovery route is via the PRTB in the first instance rather than the courts.

Procrastastudy

As I've been wrong once in this thread - I hesitate to be so again - but I dont think the SmCC will entertain claims that should have gone though the PRTB.

NoQuarter

Seems you're not alone OP:

http://news.ie.msn.com/%E2%82%AC30m-rent-deposits-not-returned