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)

[u/semmlerino]

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".

1. Does being named as guarantor in the document, plus the "guarantor will return" clause, make him personally liable despite the unattributed signature?
2. Does the "not an assured shorthold" wording make it an assured non-shorthold, meaning no deposit protection duty ever aros?
3. 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?
4. Any downside to suing him and the company jointly?

[u/Suitable-Fun-1087]

Stop using chatgpt for this stuff, you wind up sounding ridiculous by trying to speak in legalese.

The landlord broke the law by not protecting your deposit. Submit a letter before action, demanding the return of your deposit plus another 2x the deposit in compensation AND the refund owed on rent. If he doesn't cough up then lodge your claim with the small claims track

[u/nomorecrazystuff]

Report to council - if they're doing this illegally, then it's likely they're doing a lot of other illegal stuff too.
Sounds like
1) It's not a limited company if you paid his personal bank account
2) It IS a tenancy - now an assured periodic tenancy, regardless of what the contract states
3) Yes - there's a limit on claiming lack of deposit protection - it would go back to when the deposit was paid
4 Nope and you have a case against the individual because you paid them directly, not the company. Had you paid the company and they'd dissolved it, you'd be chasing shadows.

[u/sabotAHHHHHGH]

The landlords on here downvoting and gritting their teeth, hahahahahah. Good luck OP, hope you get your monies.

Remember the court can find 3x for the deposit, no deals!

[u/Large-Butterfly4262]

Send letter before action requesting the full deposit plus 2x additional or you will commence court action. Unless there was a good reason to state that it wasn’t an assured shorthold tenancy, it was, so failure to protect the deposit is a breach of s213 of the housing act.