Tenancy Deposit Claims

When dealing with tenancy deposit claims in England, it’s always important to check whether the correct steps have been followed at the outset of your rental by a landlord.

If you are a Tenant in a rented property with an assured shorthold tenancy agreement and you have paid a deposit to your Landlord, the Landlord has an obligation, under the Housing Act 2004, to protect your deposit in one of 3 approved schemes. 

It is not enough for the Landlord to place your deposit in a bank account, even though that might be safe and untouched.

Your deposit must be placed in an authorised scheme to ensure that the money that you paid for the deposit is secure for the duration of the Tenancy. 

Authorised Deposit Protection Schemes

There are very strict rules that the Landlord must follow.  Within 30 days of you paying the deposit, the Landlord must protect it with an authorised scheme. 

The Landlord must also provide you with written information detailing the protection of your deposit.

There are three Government approved schemes:

1. The Deposit Protection Service
2. Mydeposits
3. Tenancy Deposit Scheme

You can check online using the postcode of the rented property, your surname, the tenancy start date and the amount of the deposit to check whether your deposit has actually been protected.

You should be given a scheme leaflet and written information confirming details of the deposit amount and the address of the tenancy, the mechanics of returning your deposit and when deductions can be made, details of how the schemes dispute resolution service works and finally what happens if you do not receive a response from your Landlord about your deposit when the tenancy comes to an end.

Tenancy Deposit Protection Claims

Even if your landlord returns your deposit at the end of the tenancy, you are still entitled to seek compensation with a tenancy deposit protection claims from your landlord if the deposit was not protected within 30 days of payment.

If your Landlord has protected your deposit but has done so beyond the 30 day period required, you can still claim compensation.

How much compensation are you likely to be awarded?

The amount that we will recover on your behalf depends upon the circumstances of your case and your landlord’s behaviour. 

Generally, the amount awarded will be between 1 and 3 times the amount of your deposit, but the award made will vary depending on the following factors:

1. If your deposit has never been protected, we will ask the Landlord to compensate you for a figure that equates to three times the level of your deposit.  If you paid a deposit of £1,000.00, we will ask the Landlord to pay £3,000.00 in compensation plus your legal costs.

• If the deposit was never protected and the Landlord has breached the tenancy deposit rules on multiple occasions, we will ask the Landlord to pay a sum that is equivalent to 3 times the amount of your deposit for each individual breach.

• If your landlord did protect your deposit but did so after the 30 day period or, alternatively protected the deposit but did not provide you with the required information, you are still entitled to be compensated but the Court is only likely to make an award of between 1 to 1.5 times the amount of the deposit.

There are other factors that we need to take into account when assessing the likely level of award. 

If the Landlord behaves badly, for example, by refusing to accept responsibility for not having protected the deposit, fails to engage in dealing with us or gives spurious reasons for keeping the deposit, the award is likely to be higher. 

If we are dealing with a professional Landlord who has multiple properties that are let, the Court is likely to treat them more harshly than an inexperienced Landlord who only has one property that is let.

What is the procedure that is followed to recover compensation?

Once we have taken all relevant information from you and we are satisfied that you have a valid claim to make against the landlord, we will notify the landlord in writing of the position and ask them to make an offer of compensation. 

Generally in cases like these, we can reach agreement with the landlord before proceedings have to be issued. 

If an offer of settlement is made, we will discuss with you whether you are likely to recover significantly more if you take the matter to a law Court and you can make an informed decision as to whether the initial offer is acceptable. 

Often, we will negotiate an increased offer with the landlord without having to issue Court proceedings.

Small claims court and tenancy deposit disputes

How much will you have to pay?

If we do not recover compensation on your behalf, you are not obliged to pay anything. 

If we do recover compensation on your behalf, our fee is capped at 25% of the amount that is awarded.

We always advise the client to take out a Legal Expenses Policy to cover the risk of having to pay any of your opponent’s legal costs if, for any reason, the litigation is unsuccessful. 

The cost of the premium is £134.40 (including the cost of Insurance Premium Tax).

The premium only becomes payable at the conclusion of your case and if you recover compensation.

If we do not recover compensation either before or after proceedings are taken, the premium is not due for payment.

Do you need a tenancy deposit claim solicitor to make a claim? Call us on 0161 768 9400.

Tenancy Deposit Claims Solicitors

We are legal experts in tenacy deposit claims.

Book a call back with us to discuss help from a lawyer about your tenancy deposit and if you’d like advice on how to make a tenancy deposit claim.

At PR Scully tenancy deposit claim solicitors, we offer no win no fee deposit claim representation for tenants against landlords, which can help you pursue a successful compensation claim without worrying about financial losses over legal fees.

Get in touch with us today to start your claim process with our trusted and supportive legal team.

Make a tenancy deposit claim appointment: CONTACT US

Phone: 0161 768 3238

Email: info@prscully.com

P R Scully & Co Solicitors Limited,
166 Chaddock Lane,
Worsley,
Manchester,
M28 1DF