Deposit Protection/ Prescribed Information conundrum

JustAnotherDay23

I wonder if someone could advise me if it seems that my landlord has complied with the deposit protection laws: they took my deposit and insured it on mydeposits.co.uk, however, I never received any written confirmation from the platform or landlord when it has been secured. I only managed to find the deposit using the mydeposits website search.

As for Prescribed Information, in my tenancy agreement, in the last schedule there is a paragraph as follows:

"The deposit will be protected by Mydeposits in accordance with the Terms and Conditions of the deposit protection scheme. The Terms and Conditions and ADR Rules governing the protection of the deposit including the repayment process can be found at www.mydeposits.co.uk."

Is that one paragraph sufficient? Of course, at the beginning of the agreement, there is a reference to the parties to the contract (named) and the amount of the deposit but it is unclear to me if, as it is, it is fully compliant with the Housing (Tenancy Deposits) (Prescribed Information) Order 2007. I reiterate that I never received any separate document or email relating to the deposit.

Could someone with more experience please weigh in?

Robbo66

The prescribed Information can be part of the tenancy agreement and doesn't need to be a separate document however it needs be made clear and have a lot more info than the paragraph you supplied such as below, taken from my own tenancy agreement.

6   Tenancy Deposit Protection Prescribed Information

6.1  The contact details for this scheme are as follows:

               Name:                           The Dispute Service Ltd

               Address:                       West Wing, First Floor, Maylands Buildings

                                                      200 Maylands Avenue

                                                      HEMEL HEMPSTEAD

                                                      Herts

                                                      HP2 7TG

 

               Telephone number:    0330 037 1000

               Email Address:             deposits@tenancydepositscheme.com

               Fax Number                 The scheme does not provide one

                                                     

6.2         The scheme supply a leaflet for tenants and the information in that leaflet is provided with this tenancy. Please see www.tenancydepositscheme.com for further information provided by the scheme.

6.3         The Deposit will only be repaid at the end of the tenancy when the conditions in clause 1.8.5 and sub-clauses of the tenancy agreement have been completed and the Landlord and Tenant have agreed, or a dispute has been adjudicated by the alternative dispute resolution service, or on the order of a court.

6.4       If either party is not contactable at the end of the tenancy then the other party should seek advice from the deposit scheme provider at the above contact details.

6.5         If the Landlord and Tenant do not agree with each other about the amount of the Deposit refund at the end of the tenancy they may either apply to the scheme for the free alternative dispute resolution service or seek a county court order for a judgement on their claim.

6.6         The scheme offers free dispute resolution for deposits they cover. Please see their website for details of how and when to apply.

6.7         The Deposit value is as per clause 1.8.1.

6.8         The address of the Property is as per clause 1.5.

6.9         The contact details of the Landlord are as per clause 1.1.1.

6.10       The contact details of the Tenant are as per clause 1.1.2.

6.11       Information about any Relevant Person is in clause 1.1.4.

6.12       The reasons for possible deductions from the Deposit are listed in clause 1.8 and sub clauses.

6.13       The Lead Tenant for this tenancy will be ***************.  The parties forming the Tenant declare that the Lead Tenant should represent all of them in any decisions regarding the Deposit and that the decision of the Lead Tenant will be binding on all the parties forming the Tenant in this tenancy agreement, subject to the rules of the scheme.

I would hazard a guess and say that if you went to court a judge would rule that you have not been given the prescribed information

propertyrental

https://www.mydeposits.co.uk/content-hub/information-for-tenants-custodial/

https://www.mydeposits.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/mydeposits-custodial-PI-template.pdf

https://www.mydeposits.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Information-for-Tenants-EW-Insurance.pdf

JustAnotherDay23

Thank you both for your insights and the sources! I have actually read some of these free resources from mydeposits before posting out here and my initial gut reaction was the same as yours. Now, would you think that the situation, as described, would be sufficient to make a successful tenancy deposit compensation claim? My understanding is that it is. I would love to hear from someone with some experience of the issue, the online resources only get me so far nad i really need to consider the litigation/cost risks. ;/

propertyrental

If you have not received the PI, you can claim the penalty which is between 1 & 3 times the deposit. As the deposit is protected, the court is unlikely to give you the maximum penalty, but cannot give you less than the 1 times which is a minimum.

But you may wish to wait. You have 7 years to make a claim. It may be a useful bargaining tool if/when your tenancy ends and you leave the property if there is any argument over return of the deposit......

But to make a claim, see shelter guide:

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/how_to_make_a_tenancy_deposit_compensation_claim

_Penny_Dreadful

JustAnotherDay23 said:

Thank you both for your insights and the sources! I have actually read some of these free resources from mydeposits before posting out here and my initial gut reaction was the same as yours. Now, would you think that the situation, as described, would be sufficient to make a successful tenancy deposit compensation claim? My understanding is that it is. I would love to hear from someone with some experience of the issue, the online resources only get me so far nad i really need to consider the litigation/cost risks. ;/

It's going to cost you £332 just to make the claim which you could claim back from your landlord if you are successful in court.  You better make damn sure you never received the PI within the first 30 days of paying your deposit.  Are you generally good at keeping your paperwork in order?

JustAnotherDay23

_Penny_Dreadful said:

JustAnotherDay23 said:

Thank you both for your insights and the sources! I have actually read some of these free resources from mydeposits before posting out here and my initial gut reaction was the same as yours. Now, would you think that the situation, as described, would be sufficient to make a successful tenancy deposit compensation claim? My understanding is that it is. I would love to hear from someone with some experience of the issue, the online resources only get me so far nad i really need to consider the litigation/cost risks. ;/

It's going to cost you £332 just to make the claim which you could claim back from your landlord if you are successful in court.  You better make damn sure you never received the PI within the first 30 days of paying your deposit.  Are you generally good at keeping your paperwork in order?

That is a very good point, thank you. I am very organised but in any event I’m planning to go through my mail box and all paperwork to be sure. All our communications were via email so it’s easy to track. If I don’t find anything, I was thinking of writing to them first to ask: ‘hey, can you please remind me if PI was served on me and if so can I please have a copy? I can’t seem to have it in my records.’ 

No risk there, is there?

propertyrental

And whe they say "yes we did and here it is' how will you know they are not telling porkies.....?

JustAnotherDay23

I see your point but surely at court they would have to prove that they complied so any such lies would backfire. But yeah I will take that into account, thank you!