What is a tenancy deposit claim?
Deposits
Simply put, a deposit is a sum paid by a tenant before they move into a rental property. This can be used for costs incurred by the Tenant such as rent arrears or damage to the property.
Deposit requirements
By law, your deposit must be placed in a tenancy deposit scheme (TDS) by your landlord within 30 days of receiving it and it must remain protected through the whole tenancy.
They can do this in any of the 3 government protection schemes
The Deposit Protection Service
The Tenancy Deposit Scheme
MyDeposits
They also have to provide you with information regarding the deposit such as confirmation of how it is protected and the details of the protection scheme.
Penalties
If your landlord has failed to do any of the above, they MUST pay the full deposit back to you as well as 1-3 times the deposit amount as compensation. This is for each breach, so for example, if you have renewed your tenancy agreement and there is more than one breach, the penalty could be much larger.
If any of the requirements have not been met, the landlord will have breached this rule and will have to pay compensation to you. It does not matter how minor the breach is or any mitigating circumstances, for example, a mistake, inexperience.
The landlord also cannot avoid having to pay a penalty for simply complying late.
Furthermore, whilst a deposit isn’t correctly registered, the landlord cannot issue a Section 21 notice to evict you from the property until it has been fixed.
How much compensation could I get?
Your landlord is liable for up to three times the amount of the original deposit. This means you claim could be worth anything up to:
Amount of Deposit £100
Potential Claim Worth £300
Amount of Deposit £250
Potential Claim Worth £750
Amount of Deposit £500
Potential Claim Worth £1500
Amount of Deposit £750
Potential Claim Worth £2250
Amount of Deposit £1000
Potential Claim Worth £3000
Amount of Deposit £1500
Potential Claim Worth £4500
One, two or three times the deposit. What is taken into consideration?
We have found from experience that the courts are likely to take the following into account when imposing a penalty;
Higher penalties –
· If the landlord is a “professional landlord” and has multiple properties or has rented properties for some time
· If they had a lettings/managing agent to give them advice on their requirements
· Acted in bad faith
· Repeat offenders
Lower penalties –
· Where it is a genuine mistake
· Where the landlord is inexperienced
· Have taken steps to rectify their actions
How can UK Tenant Solutions help?
We can check to see if your Tenancy Deposit has been protected, and if it hasn’t, we can pursue your landlord for compensation.
Our expert team will handle the matter for you and support you every step of the way.
We can assist on a NO WIN NO FEE basis, which means that there is no risk to you.
To start your claim contact UK Tenant Solutions today at -
