Ex-landlord (one-man company, director signed as "Guarantor and Agent") admitted owing me £692 in writing, then went silent for 15 months. Trying to work out what to do (England)
Rented a room in a shared London flat from 2014 to May 2025. After checkout the manager confirmed in writing: "Deposit £590 … Refund £102 … Total to repay: £692." Nothing paid since, despite three chasers, so I'm preparing a letter before claim.
The 2019 agreement (the last written one; I stayed on after its Aug to Nov 2019 fixed term) was granted by a limited company. The man I dealt with is its sole director, is described in the agreement as its "Guarantor and Agent", and rent was payable to him personally. The deposit, paid into his personal bank account and never protected in any scheme, is covered by a clause saying the company "or its Guarantor will return the Security Deposit". He signed once without indicating capacity; the signature block lists landlord / agent / company / guarantor as options. The actual owner of the flat is a separate person who never lived there. The agreement also states the tenancy "is not an assured or assured shorthold tenancy".
- Does being named as guarantor in the document, plus the "guarantor will return" clause, make him personally liable despite the unattributed signature?
- Does the "not an assured shorthold" wording make it an assured non-shorthold, meaning no deposit protection duty ever aros?
- If it was an AST: per Lowe v Charterhouse and Superstrike, the six-year clock on a s.214 penalty looks expired since late 2025 (deposit last deemed "received" when a new monthly tenancy arose in late 2019). Could the 2023/24 rent increases (deposit unchanged) restart it?
- Any downside to suing him and the company jointly?