Withholding deposit

For three years we rented an apartment from Absolute Property. We truly and honestly enjoyed the apartment where we were staying at and for three years our payments were never late.

We gave our two months notice and our moving date was set for the 30th of March 2020. Due to the lockdown announcement we then changed our moving date to Wednesday the 25th of March 2020 as we still need to clean the apartment before lockdown starts on the 26th of March 2020 at midnight.

We informed our agents that are moving out on the 25th due to the lockdown and said to them that they can do inspection on Wednesday late afternoon or on Thursday. No inspection was done as the agent told me to just take photos of the apartment once we are done.

So on Thursday the 26th we then went in, cleaned the apartment and made sure everything was spotless. Once we were done, we then tried to get hold of the agent to hand over the keys as she did not get back to me wether she’ll meet us as the apartment or whether we should go through to the office. So after a few failing attempts by trying to get hold of her, we then decided to rather drive through to the agents office and hand over the keys. When we arrived at the agents office we then introduced ourselves, as we’ve never met the agent in our three year stay, and had a quick personal chat. So after the chat I then raised the topic regarding our deposit, where I was informed the following: “There wont be any issues with the deposit. It takes normally seven days for the deposit to be paid back to the tenants account BUT the owner really likes you guys so everything should be fine.” I then asked her must I send her the photos and she responded saying “no need as I’m sure everything is fine. I confirmed with the owner and everything is fine. I will keep you posted.” She then requested that I go take photos of the water meter and send it through to her in order for her to do the utility deduction accordingly.

I could not manage to go back the following day as we were still unpacking and getting our new place sorted. I then manage to go back to our previous place on Tuesday the 31st of March 2020 and took a photo of the water meter. After that I went to the agents apartment to drop off our second set of keys. We did not chat too much as we are under lockdown so it was a quick hello and goodbye with the reinsurance that the owner will pay back my deposit.

Since Wednesday the 1st of April, I’ve been following up where the feedback I got was that they are waiting for the owners approval and she’ll get back to me. On Friday the 2nd I sent her another follow up explaining that we’ve put down a huge amount for our new deposit so our previous deposit will really help us to get through. She said she understands and she think she saw something in her emails, she’ll get back to me. Since then I heard nothing. I kept on following up but no response whatsoever till yesterday (6th of April) where I received an email saying that the owner will only pay our deposit back after lockdown as no exit inspection was done and they’re not going to take responsibility for any costs (should there be any). I responded saying that, that was not what we’ve discussed and confirmed and that I demand my deposit to be paid back to me as they are going against their own word. I also said that should I not receive my deposit or a response I will go public and follow the correct procedures by getting my deposit back.

In closing (7th of April 2020 09:45am), I still don’t have any response and no deposit payment.