Preparation, Preparation, Preparation

As a landlord, the onus is on you to take action to avoid deposit disputes and to ensure that you win the ones that you cannot avoid. There are a few things that you can do that will really help.

Negotiating a Settlement in a Deposit Protection Dispute

If, at the end of the tenancy, you and your tenant cannot agree over the distribution of the deposit, tempers can flare. Often relations break down entirely between landlord and tenant and both sides are reduced to communicating by increasingly acrimonious emails.

If your relationship with your ex-tenant is strained, you could be missing out on your best opportunity to resolve the matter quickly and painlessly.

Landlord Assist

I am very pleased to say that ADR Solution is now helping Landlord Assist clients.

Thoughts on Universal Estates v Tiensia and Honeysuckle Properties v Fletcher

Universal Estates v Tiensia and Honeysuckle Properties v Fletcher were joined as a single appeal. The judgment handed down by the Court of Appeal on 11th November 2010 is widely considered to have confirmed a loophole in the deposit protection legislation, but the exact nature of the precedent set has been a cause of some confusion amongst landlords.

Mould: Condensation v Damp

A conversation with a client last week made me realise just how many deposit protection disputes are over the cost of repairing mould. As an adjudicator, I would dread claims relating to mould, not just because the pictures of black and green slime colonising walls would make my skin crawl, but because they always came down to the same argument, and sometimes it was very difficult to know who was right.

Some Thoughts On Inventories

A recent discussion on a linkedin.com group has sparked this weeks post. There has been a lively debate on the merits of independent inventory agents versus the perceived cost saving of landlords completing inventories themselves.

As a deposit protection adjudicator, it is reassuring to receive independently created inventories as you can be more confident that they are objective and, because the inventory agent wants

Small Claims Court As An Alternative To Deposit Protection ADR

Several people have asked my opinion recently on using the small claims court as an alternative to pursuing a dispute through the deposit protection schemes. In the most part, this comes in response to adverse decisions from the schemes which appeared unjustified. One letting agent in particular felt that judgments from small claims action were more predictable than adjudication decisions, but when I asked some more about how they operate it turned out that the agent herself was traipsing off to court every time and spending at least half a day waiting for the case to be heard, and well over two hours in the hearing every time.