Rent deposit - late return

I have just vacated a shop at the end of the lease. The Landlord (a large property company) has held a £10k rental deposit that the lease specifies is to returned within two weeks of the end of the term.

It's now six weeks, and each time I call I just get a response along the lines of: ‘”we are a very large organisation, and these things take time”. I know of another previous tenant of this same landlord who waited months for return of their deposit.

My question is whether this ‘late payment’, which is actually a return of my own money, is covered by this legislation.

This is quite clearly a situation where a very large firm is unreasonably delaying payment to my small business. However, as the transaction is not payment for goods or services, I’m not sure whether it falls inside this Late Payment of Commercial Debts Act.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

I do not think the act covers this situation as you highlight.

You are lucky that the landlord is considering repaying as every landlord I have dealt with has tried to retain the deposit claiming dilapidation's.

Deliberate or inefficient ? It may be a case of a minion following rules and procedures, 'the computer says', which means you will get your money, eventually.

You could sped things up by appointing a specialist property lawyer who is versed in commercial property (not a general practitioner as this is a very specific area). It may be that a letter from a lawyer will speed up the process.

Good luck