It is good news for both tenants and landlords, that the government has now set out a procedure relating to the return of Tenant's Deposits at the end of a tenancy.
A professional inventory will be taken at the commencement of your tenancy, and one copy of this inventory will be supplied to our tenant/s. We encourage tenants to notify us of any additional information or changes to the inventory within 10 days from the commencement of their tenancy, you can make sure your comments reach our inventory clerks directly by using our inventory email reporting system
Hutchings & Butlin Ltd is a fully bonded agent, and as such is authorised to hold deposit monies in a protected account on behalf of both the tenant and landlord.
If there should be any disagreement between the landlord and tenant at the end of a tenancy then the matter is automatically referred to the The Dispute Service an official body set up by the government to oversee and adjudicate in tenant deposit disputes.
STUDENT TENANCIES ENDING SUMMER 2016
Step 1) - Return all keys to our office during office Monday to Friday between hours oF 9 am - 5 pm (NB there is no letter box, as all keys must be received and receipted) or send by secure registered post to our office with a note of your name and property (please have your package weighed at a Post Office) :
Landlord Direct, 34 Musters Road, West Bridgford, Nottingham, NG2 7PL.
Step 2) - Show copies of your final Utility Bills to our office. Obtain from gas / electricity / water supplier.
Step 3) - Show your Council Tax Exemption Certificate to our office. Nottingham Uni Help - Trent Uni Help
Not sure about all this? - see full guidance here Apartments 4 Students
56 days before your deposit can be returned to you
You will note that our student tenancy agreements, stipulate that we, the Agent have up to 56 days from the end of your tenancy to process your deposit return.
As one of the largest Student Management Agents in Nottingham, we have a large amount of properties that have to be processed over July & August each year.
A dilapidation inspection is carried out on each property.
Any works required are ordered and arranged.
Fire Safety Risk Assessments and other safety inspections carried out.
Reports with Invoicing carried for any deposit queries.
New inventories carried out.
We cannot comment on deposit matters for 56 days.
July & August is an extremely busy time for our office, we cannot enter into informal discussions regarding your deposit return. Our staff must wait until the entire dilapidation process has been completed, we do not rely on standard pricing but actual invoices for any works required. Where properties have been left in good order we will process your deposit returns as quickly as possible.
In the event of a deposit claim being made by your landlord.
A landlord should reach agreement with you regarding any dilapidation costs which he/she feels are beyond fair wear and tear.
In this instance we will provide full documentation for your reference.
Please note all correspondence regarding any potential deposit claim must be made in writing.
In the event that a deposit claim is made then this matter must be dealt with in a prescribed format, all correspondence must therefore be made in writing.
We make two attempts to help the Landlord & Tenant to reach agreement.
If no agreement can be reached quickly, then the matter will be passed over to the official Tenancy Deposit Scheme to adjudicate. Please be aware that the summer is a busy time for the Dispute Service, and inevitably there can be quite a back log of disputes causing delays in the return of deposits. This is out of the control of our company.
Things to do before your deposit can be returned
You will receive a reminder letter prior to the termination of your tenancy, setting out what you need to do, although it very much a matter of common sense, just like any other householder moving house, you need to finalise your utility accounts, showing copies of your final utility bills to the agent, and of course all tenants must return the property keys to the agents office during office hours. (keys should not be posted through the office letter box), they need to be properly receipted by the agent.
Please note that rent payments are completely separate to deposit monies. Rent owed is rarely taken from a tenant's deposit, but will continue to show as an arrear for credit purposes.