Landlord failed to protect deposit - court action

tunatuna

So I have recently moved out of a shared house, where I was on an assured short hold tenancy agreement. A total of 4 people were staying in the house.

My landlord failed to protect my deposit within 30 days of receiving it. I have since moved out and requested it be repaid and was told I was liable for damages in a communal area (Which I was not responsible for).

Two weeks after moving out they decided to protect the deposit under DPS. However the dates of the tenancy entered in the DPS are inaccurate, and as a result the DPS is not able to pay out the deposit until the end of March. As a result I am out of pocket with no guarantee of them returning the full amount.

I've read in various places that I am entitled to take the landlord to a small claims court, for the return of the deposit plus upto three times the deposit value - as a result of them failing to protect the deposit within 30 days of tenancy starting.

What are thoughts on this? Clearly they have broken the law and I am left high and dry!

dancingfairy

I believe there are 2 things:
1) the return of the actual deposit and
2) suing for the penalty.
I'm unsure if you can sue for the return of the actual deposit as it is currently protected and how you would go about getting it back. You could sue for the penalty though for sure. Until someone who knows these things is around have a look on the Shelter website as there is bound to be lots of useful help on there. You can always give them a ring, although they do get very busy.
df

tunatuna

Thanks dancingfairy, I did speak to shelter, who said I would be entitled to sue however just want to sense check first. I will check with them again tomorrow that it is acceptable to sue for the penalty, I would certainly hope so. I really don't want to go down this route and have been perfectly reasonable with the landlord but they refuse to offer a reasonable resolution!

anselld

tunatuna wrote: »

Two weeks after moving out they decided to protect the deposit under DPS. However the dates of the tenancy entered in the DPS are inaccurate, and as a result the DPS is not able to pay out the deposit until the end of March. As a result I am out of pocket with no guarantee of them returning the full amount.

Whilst I agree, you are entitled to sue for deposit + 3x penalty, please note that the above statement regarding DPS is not correct. DPS can return the deposit at any time if the tenant and landlord agree; it is not linked to the end date of the tenancy.

tunatuna

anselld wrote: »

Whilst I agree, you are entitled to sue for deposit + 3x penalty, please note that the above statement regarding DPS is not correct. DPS can return the deposit at any time if the tenant and landlord agree; it is not linked to the end date of the tenancy.

It cannot be repaid due to money laundering regulations, not due to tenancy end date

G_M

When did the tenancy start? When was a fixed term last signed and for how long?
There is a small chance that the deposit did not need to be protected (depending on dates).

However, on the assumption that it should have been protected:


Dear Mr Landlord,

Letter Before Action

I note that you failed to register my deposit in a recognised scheme, as required by the Housing Act 2004 (amended by the Localism Act 2011) within 30 days of the tenancy start date.

I was also not issued with the Prescribed Information.

The penalty for non-compliance is up to 3 times the deposit (plus the deposit itself).

Kindly return my deposit in full within 3 working days of receipt of this letter or legal action will follow.

Yours sincerely

A Tenant

Send it to the address provided "for the serving of notices" on the landlord.

jjlandlord

In their custodial scheme, DPS will only allow a repayment procedure after 28 days.

When was your deposit protected?

G_M

jjlandlord wrote: »

In their custodial scheme, DPS will only allow a repayment procedure after 28 days.

When was your deposit protected?

But of course that is the LL's problem, not the tenant's.

LL should not have tied up the tenant's money in a scheme at this late stage.

He should pay out of his pocket and reclaim the deposit himself after 28 days. Tenant of course should agree to release the deposit to the LL if LL has already paid him.

tunatuna

G_M wrote: »

But of course that is the LL's problem, not the tenant's.

LL should not have tied up the tenant's money in a scheme at this late stage.

He should pay out of his pocket and reclaim the deposit himself after 28 days. Tenant of course should agree to release the deposit to the LL if LL has already paid him.

The deposit was paid into the DPS 2 weeks after vacating the property, 14th Feb.

I requested that the landlord repay the deposit directly to myself now in full, and assured them I would oblige when they then ask for the full amount of the deposit from the DPS when the 28 days expires. I believe this is reasonable. Guess what, they refused! :mad:

pyueck

tunatuna wrote: »

The deposit was paid into the DPS 2 weeks after vacating the property, 14th Feb.

I requested that the landlord repay the deposit directly to myself now in full, and assured them I would oblige when they then ask for the full amount of the deposit from the DPS when the 28 days expires. I believe this is reasonable. Guess what, they refused! :mad:

Write the letter. If he still refuses come back. If you go to court you will get back your deposit plus at least 1x your deposit, up to three times on the judges discretion. Make it clear to them this is their last chance. Once you pay for court action make sure you follow through with it unless they offer you a good settlement including the amount due for the amount not being protected in time or with the prescribed info. Any half sensible person would pay up as otherwise they could easily end up with a huge bill.

G_M

tunatuna wrote: »

The deposit was paid into the DPS 2 weeks after vacating the property, 14th Feb.

I requested that the landlord repay the deposit directly to myself now in full, and assured them I would oblige when they then ask for the full amount of the deposit from the DPS when the 28 days expires. I believe this is reasonable. Guess what, they refused! :mad:

you requested how? when?

If in writing, then go straight to court. If not, stop fannying around on the phone/email/whatever and write a letter before action.