Q. We purchased a property with sitting tenants three years ago. The deposit was paid back to the former agents and we have just realised that the agents never paid it over to us or lodged the money with the DPS as had been agreed. The agents have since gone into liquidation.  Where does this leave us?

A. I am afraid it leaves you in a difficult position. The tenants are entitled to their money back at the end of the tenancy and you are their landlord. When you purchased the property, you took over the rights and obligations of the former landlord – including the obligation to deal properly with the deposit and return it to the tenants at the end of the tenancy.  

It is certainly unfortunate that the former agents failed to deal properly with the deposit money and that due to their insolvency the money is now almost certainly irrecoverable from them, but that is not the fault of the tenants. I am afraid you are responsible for returning the money to them – less of course any deductions that need to be made for rent arrears or damage.

Q. I am getting confused about all these changes to the possession notice periods. We served a section 21 notice on our tenants on 20 September where we gave 6 months’ notice and a section 8 notice based on rent arrears on the same day, where we gave four months’ notice.

As the notice periods have now changed, can we issue proceedings earlier than the end of the notice periods stated in those notices?