Failure to protect tenancy deposit

simonmills86

Good evening people, I'm wondering if you could help.

I moved out of rented accommodation in January and due to a couple of minor issues brought up by the landlady on inspection, I was returned my deposit less about £150.

As my partner and her parents generally leave a place in far better condition than they find it, I was surprised that such minor details were brought into contention and we were charged for it.

Nevertheless, we accepted it and more through annoyance than anything else I decided to check if my deposit had ever been protected. I was surprised to find no record of this and when I challenged the letting agents they tried fobbing me off saying it had been "archived" and as the tenancy had ended, they were not obliged to prove it had ever been protected.

Eventually after much persistence they sent me a copy of the certificate in question - however this copy conveniently lacked the date of registration. It was only when this was cross-referenced by the TDS online tool that it became clear that the deposit was only registered into a scheme two weeks AFTER I left the property. Now to me this looks like the original document was doctored to save face when the agency knew they were bang to rights.

So I've since taken out a claim against the letting agents, however they have filed a defence on the grounds that the responsibility of securing the deposit was that of the landlord and not them.

On reflection they are probably right and I've been advised to discontinue my claim against them and start action against the landlord.

Now for reasons that aren't necessarily relevant to the case, I am very reluctant to do this as I was hoping not to have to get the landlord involved in this. I have sent a sympathetic letter expressing my regret about the situation but also saying I am prepared to take them to court if a compromise is not reached. I am still waiting to hear back from them.

Although I am convinced I have a water tight case, I am loathe to start another claim and shell out another £105 for a hiding to nothing. Someone I sought advice from online says I should count myself lucky the agency aren't chasing me for costs as the claim should not have been made against them. They were the ones that advised me to discontinue the existing claim which is now at the DQ stage (for anyone familiar with the small claims court)

I am really in a quandary as I don't believe I should let this lie but also it has become incredibly time consuming and emotionally draining so walking away is still very much an option. Although I have suffered no financial loss from the deposit not being protected (apart from the £150 deductions and now £105 claim issue fee) it is abundantly clear that the agency and/or the landlord have broken the law.

I'm not even entirely sure what I'm asking for, maybe some advice, maybe just a pep talk, but the situation is starting to get me down.

Has anyone else successfully resolved a similar situation?

Thanks for listening,
Simon




Simon

pinkshoes

You have a watertight case, but not against the letting agent.

A simple letter before action should have done the trick. The £105 claim fee was wasted.

Dear LL. As you did not protect my deposit within the time frame required, as was your legal obligation, then I am requesting my deposit back in full, otherwise I will be taking you to court for up to 3x the deposit amount. I look forward to your response within 4 days.

simonmills86

pinkshoes wrote: »

You have a watertight case, but not against the letting agent.

A simple letter before action should have done the trick. The £105 claim fee was wasted.

Dear LL. As you did not protect my deposit within the time frame required, as was your legal obligation, then I am requesting my deposit back in full, otherwise I will be taking you to court for up to 3x the deposit amount. I look forward to your response within 4 days.

This is what I did yesterday. The only niggling doubt I have in my mind is that I had already moved out of the property before I noticed the deposit was never protected. Does this null and void my claim or is it still valid?

I also anticipate that my LBA will fall on deaf ears and I'll have no option but to make a claim against the LL.

Also if this does go the way I anticipate it, is this a claim best served as a part 7 or part 8 claim?

G_M

You are out of date. That used to be the case, but you now have 7 years to claim (or is it 6?) from the end of the tenancy.

See

* Deposits: payment, protection and return

The agent is also out of date! The Deregulation Act 2015 section 30 says:

30 Tenancy deposits: provision of information by agents

(1)The Housing (Tenancy Deposits) (Prescribed Information) Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/797) is amended as follows.

(2)In article 2 (prescribed information relating to tenancy deposits), after paragraph (2) insert—

“(3)In a case where the initial requirements of an authorised scheme have been complied with in relation to the deposit by a person (“the initial agent”) acting on the landlord’s behalf in relation to the tenancy—

(a)references in paragraph (1)(b), (g)(iii) and (vii) to the landlord are to be read as references to either the landlord or the initial agent;

(b)references in paragraphs (1)(d), (e), (g)(iv) and (vi) and (2) to the landlord are to be read as references to either the landlord or a person who acts on the landlord’s behalf in relation to the tenancy.

(4)In any other case, references in paragraphs (1)(d), (e), (g)(iv) and (vi) and (2) to the landlord are to be read as references to either the landlord or a person who acts on the landlord’s behalf in relation to the tenancy.

and

Part 6 of the Housing Act 2004 S 212 (9) says:

References to a landlord or landlords in relation to any shorthold tenancy or tenancies include references to a person or persons acting on his or their behalf in relation to the tenancy or tenancies (Section 212(9))

See also
https://www.propertyinvestmentproject.co.uk/blog/whos-responsible-for-securing-deposit/

simonmills86

G_M wrote: »

You are out of date. That used to be the case, but you now have 7 years to claim (or is it 6?) from the end of the tenancy.

See

* Deposits: payment, protection and return

The agent is also out of date! The Deregulation Act 2015 section 30 says:

and

Part 6 of the Housing Act 2004 S 212 (9) says:

See also
https://www.propertyinvestmentproject.co.uk/blog/whos-responsible-for-securing-deposit/

Please can you summarise both points.

You say I am out of date yet I only moved out in January this year and I have seven years?

G_M

I mean your knowledge is out of date!
You have 7 years.
The agent's knowledge is also out of date.
The agent is also legally liable.

zagubov

This is starting to remind me of an (I think it was an Onion) article about how America was transitioning to a litigation-based economy where people finance their lives by suing everybody else instead of working productively to earn an honest income. :think:

G_M

zagubov wrote: »

This is starting to remind me of an (I think it was an Onion) article about how America was transitioning to a litigation-based economy where people finance their lives by suing everybody else instead of working productively to earn an honest income. :think:

:rotfl:Thank you so much! Never heard of the Onion but just duckduckgoed it ....... I foresee hours of pleasure ahead.......

nyermen

G_M wrote: »

:rotfl:Thank you so much! Never heard of the Onion but just duckduckgoed it ....... I foresee hours of pleasure ahead.......

The really worrying thing about the onion is how often I have to remind myself they're satirical. Sometimes it feels like the simpsons famous predictions...

Comms69

simonmills86 wrote: »

Good evening people, I'm wondering if you could help.

I moved out of rented accommodation in January and due to a couple of minor issues brought up by the landlady on inspection, I was returned my deposit less about £150.

As my partner and her parents generally leave a place in far better condition than they find it, I was surprised that such minor details were brought into contention and we were charged for it.

Nevertheless, we accepted it and more through annoyance than anything else I decided to check if my deposit had ever been protected. I was surprised to find no record of this and when I challenged the letting agents they tried fobbing me off saying it had been "archived" and as the tenancy had ended, they were not obliged to prove it had ever been protected.

Eventually after much persistence they sent me a copy of the certificate in question - however this copy conveniently lacked the date of registration. It was only when this was cross-referenced by the TDS online tool that it became clear that the deposit was only registered into a scheme two weeks AFTER I left the property. Now to me this looks like the original document was doctored to save face when the agency knew they were bang to rights.

So I've since taken out a claim against the letting agents, however they have filed a defence on the grounds that the responsibility of securing the deposit was that of the landlord and not them.

On reflection they are probably right and I've been advised to discontinue my claim against them and start action against the landlord. - It's sensible to take action against both. BUT this isn't a small claim track, it's multi-track and I if you've made such a minor mistake, can I check what form was used to make the claim?

Now for reasons that aren't necessarily relevant to the case, I am very reluctant to do this as I was hoping not to have to get the landlord involved in this. - How did you imagine you'd do this? I have sent a sympathetic letter expressing my regret about the situation but also saying I am prepared to take them to court if a compromise is not reached. I am still waiting to hear back from them.

Although I am convinced I have a water tight case, I am loathe to start another claim and shell out another £105 -So now I know you have definitely filed the wrong claim. for a hiding to nothing. Someone I sought advice from online says I should count myself lucky the agency aren't chasing me for costs as the claim should not have been made against them. - no costs to chase They were the ones that advised me to discontinue the existing claim which is now at the DQ stage (for anyone familiar with the small claims court)

I am really in a quandary as I don't believe I should let this lie but also it has become incredibly time consuming and emotionally draining so walking away is still very much an option. Although I have suffered no financial loss from the deposit not being protected (apart from the £150 deductions and now £105 claim issue fee) it is abundantly clear that the agency and/or the landlord have broken the law.

I'm not even entirely sure what I'm asking for, maybe some advice, maybe just a pep talk, but the situation is starting to get me down.

Has anyone else successfully resolved a similar situation?

Thanks for listening,
Simon




Simon

Well discontinue the small claim as that is the incorrect process. This is a multi-track claim.


Some solicitor will do this for a (significant) percentage of the payout - likely 2x the value.

simonmills86

zagubov wrote: »

This is starting to remind me of an (I think it was an Onion) article about how America was transitioning to a litigation-based economy where people finance their lives by suing everybody else instead of working productively to earn an honest income. :think:

Cheers for that chief, well helpful :T