New Landlord help needed please

Dear Members,

This is my first post so please be gentle. I am not a landlord myself but write on behalf of my daughter who is a new landlord.

She purchased the house next door to us after separating from her first husband. After a while she met somebody else and eventually married her new man and moved into the house he owns. When she purchased the property house prices were at the very best, since then house prices have dropped which would have meant had she decided to sell at the time she would have lost around £20,000, so she decided to rent her property out until house prices began to pick up again then possibly sell the house.

This is where the problems start. Not knowing the complex laws regarding property letting she let the house to a lady with a child. The lady gave a bond of £350 when she moved in and is paying £500 per calendar month rent. After numerous problems with this lady my daughter has decided to ask her to leave the property and issued her with a section 21 notice.

When the tenant paid the £350 bond my daughter was unaware that she had to put the bond into a bond scheme, naïve on her part I know but she just didn’t know about it. Anyway, since the section 21 notice was issued the tenant has gone to the local housing advice centre who has told her the section 21 notice is invalid because the bond was not placed in a scheme. I must point out that there is no problem with the bond being returned to the tenant at the end of her tenancy. 

Since all this my daughter has placed the bond into a holding scheme. Also the tenant has advised my daughter that she intends to move out on the 14th September so can somebody tell me what to do, has the local housing association got any power to intervene, is my daughter in big trouble or do we just leave it until the tenant moves out then give her her bond back.

Any advice would be gratefully received

Many thanks

Graham