Question about getting deposit back

I have an awkward question - My husband and I are moving in three days and we put in our notice to leave (We are on a month to month lease now with required 30 days notice)seventeen days ago to our landlord both via email and sign on delivery letter. We've not heard anything from her. We've asked in those notices how to return the keys and how to go about getting our deposit back.

Our landlord has not been very good - a slum lord, if you will. One of many examples: We had no hot/warm water for a year and there are still issues with it that won't be fixed. She has a pattern of ignoring emails if you ask her something she doesn't want to reply to or if you ask when something is going to get fixed.

Our rent is paid up until the 20th of the month although we will be out before then. It's some time away but I would have expected an email before now with instructions. I'm going to send another sign on delivery letter on Friday after we move but what is the best way to proceed if she will not respond to us? Citizens Advice Bureau? I'm also not sure that our deposit is being held with a third party. Our contract states so but I have been told we should have received something from the third party stating they received our deposit for holding and we never have.

Also, this is privately owned, no estate agents.

Have a look at this:

https://www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection/overview

Thanks I will show this to my husband tonight!

I'm a bit late with this but yes, your landlord had to send you the Prescribed Information about your deposit.

If they did protect your deposit, then don't delay in contacting that deposit scheme to request the full return of your deposit. Did the landlord provide you with an inventory when you moved in and was it signed by both parties?

If you need to take the landlord to court because they didn't protect your deposit (it's a crazy law when the victim has to take the person to court for breaking the law, instead of the police doing this) you may already have free legal insurance and not know it.

On your house contents insurance, see if you bought the optional extra of Legal Cover, sometimes called Family Cover. If you did, read the exclusions of that legal cover and see if it excludes action against a landlord, or defending against a landlord.  If your insurers used a quality legal insurers, then you should be ok.

If you find you are covered, then phone your insurancers and ask for a claim form for legal cover. You will only be covered for legal fees from when they agree to take your case. The amount you will be asked to contribute will also shown on your poilicy and will range from £0 to the amount you have agreed to pay in the event of a claim.

Sorry I was without the internet for around a month due to moving and only saw your reply now.

We received the deposit back about a week ago.  We tried contacting the deposit place mentioned in the lease. (There was only the name mention and website) They needed an account number to access the information via their robotic phone answering system. (You cannot reach a human being via the phone number for them.) We emailed the landlady asking for the account number and was ignored.  She scanned a copy of the deposit with the company but it had no date or any information other than the name of the company and deposit amount. It looked shady to my husband and I.  We imagine this is a deposit made with them years ago. Likely the service isn't even used anymore as in our lease an estate agent was listed as our primary contact. We never went through an estate agent. After looking up the company online they sold out to another estate agent in 2012. Lease was signed in 2014.  So guessing the lease is outdated and she was too lazy to edit it. Likely the deposit service was never used or possibly another service not listed in our lease.

In short we didn't pursue anything as we got the deposit back.

In short we didn't pursue anything as we got the deposit back.

I bet they gave it back when they realised you knew that the deposit had to be in one of the deposit schemes AND the landlord had not sent you the Prescribed Information which they are required to do under the Housing Acts.
https://www.depositprotection.com/help/browse/custodial/agent-landlord/prescribed-information

That was kind of you to accept the deposit instead of taking action to get the deposit back in full and up to 3X the deposit amount back too. If they are trying to keep under the radar, perhaps they didn't declare their business to HMRC; didn't have permission from their mortgage lender, used that address to claim benefits for themselves.

Did you ever receive any mail for the landlord at the property you rented?

If you ever want to check if a landlord is getting their mail redirected (instead of owning up that they aren't living there) you can always address an envelope to the landlord at the rented house you are in, and see if it ends up on your mat or theirs.