Basis of the claim
The claim arose because the landlord failed to protect the tenant’s deposit as required under the Housing Act 2004. The deposit, which our client paid to a professional landlord in Bristol, was not placed in and therefore protected by one of the 3 approved government deposit schemes (My Deposits, DPS and TDS). Under the Housing Act 2004, a tenant has a right of action against a landlord to claim up to 3 times the deposit value back in compensation if the landlord fails to protect their deposit within 30 days of the deposit being paid.
Claim process
PR Scully & Co spoke to Mr S to give advice when he discovered that his deposit had not been protected. We gathered together all of the information needed, including a copy of the tenancy agreement and proof that a deposit had been paid. Upon review of the Tenancy Agreement, it appeared that Mr S had been issued with a ‘House Share’ agreement, rather than an assured shorthold tenancy.
Dressing up what should have been an assured shorthold tenancy and rewording it as a ‘house share’ agreement appeared to have been an attempt by the Landlord to avoid his obligations to protect the tenancy deposit. On closer examination and having discussed the living arrangements that our client had, it became clear that our client should in fact have been granted an Assured Shorthold Tenancy , which would have afforded him the protection of the Housing Act 2004, meaning that his deposit should have been protected.
PR Scully & Co submitted a letter of claim to the Landlord and tried to negotiate settlement. The Landlord responded and confirmed that they were not under an obligation to protect the deposit because our client had entered into a ‘House Share’ Agreement, not an assured shorthold tenancy.
Given the Landlord’s refusal to meet our client’s claim, we issued court proceedings and the matter proceeded to a final hearing. The Judge listened to our arguments and found that the agreement the Landlord had issued to Mr S was not a ‘House Share’ agreement and was in fact an Assured Shorthold Tenancy, which meant that under the Housing Act 2004, the tenancy deposit protection rules applied. The Court ordered for the landlord to pay an amount equalling twice the deposit in compensation for the First tenancy agreement and a sum equivalent to one times the deposit for the Statutory rolling period. Mr S therefore recovered three times his deposit in compensation, in total receiving £1500.00 in compensation for his Tenancy Deposit Claim.
Throughout the claim Mr S was kept up to date about the progress of his claim, and was reassured throughout. Mr S was delighted that we managed to secure compensation against his landlord.
If you have a tenancy agreement and have paid a deposit to your landlord, you should receive confirmation within 30 days of making payment of where and when the deposit was protected, including a copy of the certificate. If your landlord failed to protect your deposit within 30 days of you making payment, you may be owed compensation up to 3 times the value of the deposit. Contact us today if you would like further advice on 0161 667 8260 – looking after clients since 1999.
PR Scully & Co have approached The Ministry of Housing Communities & Local Government for comment on The Renters Rights Bill and how they intend to deal with sham tenancy agreements. Landlords that issue sham agreements are breaking the law.