Deposit not held in scheme?

shakey999

We're about to end our tenancy as we have bought a house, and will be moving out in 30 days. I was looking through the contract, and under the deposit subheading, they've just written 'deposit given to landlord', what does that mean?? Secondly, they didn't do an inventory of the place when we moved in, or at least didnt show us it.

Given the information above, if the landlord decides not to pay it back due to letty reasons, what should my course of action be? Do landlords HAVE to protect the deposit?

[Deleted User]

Yes, deposit protection is a legal requirement (since ~2007, although since ~2011 every tenancy deposit must be protected no matter when it started) alongside protecting your deposit they also need to serve you the prescribed information (where the deposit is protected, reference number etc). If your deposit is not protected then you are legally entitled to up to 3x the value of the deposit to be paid to you by the landlord, also the original deposit must be returned too. You can find out if your deposit is protected on the schemes websites.

If no inventory was performed when you moved in then your landlord has no way to prove any problem were caused by you which almost always guarantees that the deposit disputes will be found in your favour, the accuser must prove guilt.

Your course of action depends on whether or not you're vindictive, interested in money, just want your deposit back or wish to teach the landlord a lesson. At the very least you can ask your landlord to return the deposit in full with no deductions and explain to him that if the deposit isn't returned he may well find himself in court paying out 3x the initial amount.

Read this: https://www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection/overview

Also it's worth considering that a non-protected deposit does not grant you immunity from compensation being sought for any damage, if there is damage that the landlord can prove then he could take you to small claims court even after the deposit has been returned to you.

Werdnal

Not quite so - You are not "legally entitled to 3x the value". It is possible to claim the penalty for non-protection but it is NOT guaranteed as 3x the value - I am sure you have been told this before!

It is a long winded, costly court process, through a specific claim route at the County Court, and it can result in 1-3x the deposit value at the discretion of the judge. Whilst I don't condone LL's not protecting the deposit, this banding about of "you are entitled to 3x the deposit value" is misleading, and many tenants would not want the hassle and stress of the claim process anyway - especially as court fees for this claim would be around £1K (although successfull claim would award these costs against the LL eventually).

However, the LL may feel the threat that the tenant might take them to court is enough to convince them to return the deposit in full!

martindow

Have you checked with each of the schemes to see if it is protected? It is possible that despite what you were told it is sitting safely in one scheme or other.

[Deleted User]

Werdnal wrote: »

Not quite so - You are not "legally entitled to 3x the value". It is possible to claim the penalty for non-protection but it is NOT guaranteed as 3x the value - I am sure you have been told this before!

I am well aware, please re-read my post:

citricsquid wrote: »

If your deposit is not protected then you are legally entitled to up to 3x the value of the deposit to be paid to you by the landlord, also the original deposit must be returned too.

I understand that people providing misinformation on this forum is a problem however I make sure to not make the same mistake twice and I have, as far as I know, not been one of the people spreading misinformation frequently here. I would appreciate it if you didn't assume that I was wrong and read my posts properly. Thanks!