Tenancy Deposit Claims

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Tenancy Deposit Claims Guide – How To Claim Compensation From A Landlord For Tenancy Deposit?

By Marlon Cooke. Last Updated 21st October 2022. Welcome to our tenancy deposit compensation claims guide.

If you paid your current or former landlord a rental deposit in the last 6 years and they failed to return it (either wholly or partly) without good cause to do so, you could make a claim against them for compensation.

Welcome to our tenancy deposit compensation claims guide

Welcome to our tenancy deposit compensation claims guide

There are even circumstances where you could claim compensation, even if the full deposit has been returned to you. In some cases where the deposit was returned but not protected, you could still be able to take action against your current or former landlord. As well as repaying deposits to tenants, landlords in England and Wales could also be required to place deposits into a specially protected scheme backed by the government.

Your landlord may have been required by law to have put your rent deposit into one of three Government-backed tenancy deposit schemes. If they have not done so, as well as being open to a compensation claim, they could also face a penalty for not protecting your deposit.

If any of the above circumstances describe a situation which you have faced, our panel of solicitors could help you to claim compensation and hold your errant landlord to account. To learn more, please continue our tenancy deposit compensation claims guide.

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A Guide To Tenancy Deposit Compensation Claims

Welcome to our tenancy deposit compensation claims guide.

In England and Wales the law states that if you pay a deposit to your landlord, this deposit should be protected and deposited into one of three different tenancy deposit protection schemes which are backed by the government. There are different rules in place governing deposits in Scotland and Northern Ireland which you can find here (Scotland) and here (Northern Ireland). If your tenancy agreement is an assured shorthold tenancy and if that tenancy started after April 6, 2007, the deposit should be protected.

These deposit protection schemes were brought in to prevent your landlord from using your deposit as additional income. It was also designed to make getting your deposit back easier. Current laws also state that if you started your tenancy agreement in the last six years, your landlord is obliged to have taken certain actions. If they have not done things like placing your deposit in a tenancy deposit scheme, you could claim compensation and/ or your money back.

Steps your landlord is required to take include;

  • Paying your rental deposit into one of the three government approved and backed tenancy deposit protection schemes.
  • Telling you which of these schemes the deposit was paid into and providing you with information on the scheme.
  • Protect the deposit and provide you information about how it is protected within thirty days of you paying the deposit.

In such cases where these steps have not been taken, you could be able to make a tenant deposit protection compensation claim for between one and three times your original deposit. To learn more, please continue reading this tenancy deposit compensation claims guide.

What Is Tenancy Deposit Protection?

When you rent a property or even a room in shared accommodation, it is standard for the landlord to ask for a deposit. This is generally in order to secure the tenancy on the property before the new tenant moves in and to provide the landlord security in circumstances, such as the tenant not paying rent. When you pay this deposit, the landlord must follow certain procedures. Chiefly among these is placing the deposit with one of the following protection schemes.

Tenancy Deposit Scheme
MyDeposits
Deposit Protection Service

If the landlord chooses not to pay the deposit into one of these schemes, they will then need to have an insurance policy in place to ensure that your deposit is protected for the duration of your tenancy and occupation of the property.

How do I know if my landlord has protected my deposit?

In April of 2007 laws were introduced which require your landlord to do this. If your landlord has not done so, or if they have failed to notify you of which scheme your deposit is held with, you could make a tenancy deposit protection compensation claim.

Tenancy Deposit Protection Rules In England And Wales

At this point in our tenancy deposit compensation claims guide, we’ll look at some relevant legislation.

If you are renting a property with what is called an assured shorthold tenancy, the landlord must follow the governing rules. These rules are different in Scotland and Northern Ireland compared to England and Wales. In England and Wales, this is the most common type of tenancy. In cases where you have paid your deposit via an agency, the landlord may instead ask the agency to protect the deposit on behalf of them. The letting agent has to abide by the same regulations.

Once the deposit has been made (and within 30 days of payment) the landlord or estate agent has to provide you with the following information.

  • How much you have paid as a deposit and the address of the property you are renting.
  • Details of how to contact your landlord or agent as well as the applicable protection scheme.
  • Information about how this scheme works.
  • How you can and will get your deposit back, and what deductions could be made. This may also include details on when can a tenant claim compensation.
  • What will happen if you and the landlord have a dispute with regards to the deposit? Again, this may include information on claiming compensation for tenancy deposits which are not returned.

This notification should be signed by the party whom you paid the deposit to, be they an agent or a landlord.

How Should Your Rental Deposit Be Protected?

Next in our tenancy deposit compensation claims guide, we’ll look at how your deposit should be protected.

Depending on when your tenancy started and when the deposit was paid, there may be different rules about how it should be protected and time limits for protecting the deposit. As we have seen, since 2007, deposits should be protected with one of the government-backed agencies listed above or adequate insurance should be put in place to protect the deposit if the landlord does not place it with an agency.

However, the time limits within which the deposit must be protected and after which you could make a tenancy deposit dispute differ. Your landlord is required to protect your deposit and notify you of which scheme it is held with, within 30 days. Beyond this, they may be in breach of the rules and you may be able to make a tenancy deposit compensation claim.

There are different time limits for deposits which were made prior to April 6, 2012.

Edit
Date deposit was made/ type of deposit. Time limit to have protected it.
April 6, 2007 – April 5, 2012 Protected by May 6, 2012
Prior to April 6, 2007 The deposit does not need to be protected. However, if you are served with a section 21 notice, the deposit must be returned.
Fixed term assured (shorthold) tenancies which ended sometime after April 2007. June 23, 2015
For tenancies renewed between April 6, 2007 and April 5, 2012. May 6, 2012
In cases where you renewed your rental on/ after April 6, 2012. 30 days

Check If Your Deposit Has To Be Protected – Some Do Not

Now in our tenancy deposit compensation claims guide, we’ll explain how you can check whether your deposit should be protected.

At this point you may be asking “how do I know if my landlord has protected my deposit?” what we should note is that not every type of tenancy or rental deposit requires your deposit to be paid into a protection scheme. In the following instances, your deposit does not need to be placed in a protection scheme;

  • If you are lodging in the same premises as your landlord. This may include renting a room in a house or flat.
  • If you are renting accommodation in halls of residence as a student. Such as on a university campus.
  • If your tenancy is one that is assured or one which is a pre-January 1989 tenancy that is regulated.

In such circumstances you could still take a landlord to court for not protecting your deposit as whilst they are not obliged to use a scheme, they do have to protect them in some way.

Circumstances Of How And When Tenancy Deposits Should Be Returned

At this point in our tenancy deposit compensation claims guide, we’ll look at some instances where deposits should be returned.

If you can show evidence that you have kept up to date with your rental payments and that you have not caused any damage to the property, your deposit should be fully returned to you. If your deposit is not returned within 10 days of the end of your tenancy agreement, the landlord could be seen to be withholding the deposit from you. The landlord must return the deposit to you in full. If they have not done so, you could be able to make a claim for your deposit. In some cases, you could be able to recover up to three times the original value of your deposit.

You may also be able to make a claim against your landlord if they have made unreasonable deductions from the deposit. By law, they could only make any deductions from the deposit if they can show evidence of a financial loss. Losses that they could deduct could include things such as arrears for your rent, property damage, or unexpected cleaning fees. The landlord could not deduct the cost of normal wear and tear of the property. To find out how do I get my tenancy deposit back, talk to a member of our team today.

To learn more, please continue reading our tenancy deposit compensation claims guide.

When Am I Eligible To Make A Claim?

Essentially, you could be able to make a tenancy deposit compensation claim if your landlord has not abided by the laws. If the deposit was not correctly protected you could be eligible to claim damages, or even if your deposit was returned in full, but not protected, you could be able to claim compensation of up to three times the original deposit.

Even if the landlord did protect the deposit but did not provide information as to how the deposit was protected, you could have grounds to make a claim against them.

Examples of what the landlord could deduct from a deposit.

  • Outstanding rent.
  • If you have caused damage to the property
  • If you have lost items from the property inventory.

Examples of what they can not deduct from a deposit.

  • The cost of usual wear-and-tear, such as needing to replace a carpet.
  • Fixing repairs that should have previously been repaired.

If I Have Received Part Of The Money Back, Can I Still Claim?

You may be reading this tenancy deposit compensation claims guide if you received part of your money back but you’re wondering whether you could still claim.

If the landlord only returned part of your deposit and you believe that you should have had the full amount returned to you, you could be able to make a claim. If the landlord has made unreasonable deductions you could make a tenant deposit scheme compensation claim. You will need to show that you were up to date with all rent due (as per your rental agreement) and that you have not caused any damage to the property, showing that the landlord did not have good reason to retain the portion of the deposit that they did.

If the landlord does not return your deposit in full, you make a claim and may need to take the landlord to court for the deposit.

Even If I Have Received All Of The Money Back, Can I Still Claim?

Following on from the last section, another reason you may be reading this tenancy deposit compensation claims guide is if you’ve received all of your money back but you’re wondering whether you could still claim.

We have seen that there are cases where your deposit was fully returned to you, but where you could still be able to claim compensation. You could be able to take your landlord to court for not protecting your deposit, even if the deposit was fully returned to you.

You may also be able to make a claim if the deposit was not returned to you within 10 days, or even simply if you were not provided with the right information about where and how your deposit is being protected. To check where and when a tenant can claim compensation, please contact our team.

Deposit Claims – What Evidence Do I Need?

If you are involved in a tenancy dispute with a landlord or letting agency over your deposit, we would first recommend you thoroughly read the terms of your tenancy agreement.

Next you will need evidence of the dispute at hand and evidence that shows that you had fulfilled your contractual obligations. For example, you could provide correspondence between yourself and your landlord.

Evidence that shows that you had fulfilled your agreement could then come in the form of:

  • Photos taken of the property, showing the state you had left it in
  • Bank statements, in conjunction with your tenancy agreement

Deposit claims can occur for a number of reasons – including a landlord’s own failure to properly protect a deposit. We would advise that you reach out to a solicitor who could show you how to request documents from your landlord or evidence that could help you claim your deposit back.

Please reach out to one of our advisers to see if you could be put through to a solicitor to help you.

Writing To Notify Your Landlord You Intend To Claim

If your landlord does owe you part or all of your deposit, you will need to send a formal letter to the landlord. This is called a ‘letter before action’ and it could be written and sent by your solicitor. In this letter, you need to set out the details of your tenancy deposit compensation claim.

Similarly, you can take a landlords agent to court for not protecting a deposit, or not repaying it fully. In many cases, the landlord will agree to pay your deposit back as well as potentially pay compensation without the case going to court.

Will My Claim Need To Go To Court?

You may be reading this tenancy deposit compensation claims guide if you’re wondering whether you’ll need to go to court.

As we have said, in many cases the landlord or their agent will agree to settle the claim prior to the case going to court. When they receive the letter from your solicitor, or at another stage prior to court, the landlord or agent may choose to make an out of court settlement offer. Your solicitor will advise you of whether you should or should not accept this offer.

What Happens If My Tenancy Deposit Compensation Claim Goes To Court?

If your claim does need to go to court, both you and the landlord or agent can be represented by solicitors. The judge will review the evidence presented by solicitors acting on behalf of you and the defendant in the claim. They may ask questions about the evidence and the claim. If the judge finds in your favour, the court will then determine how much the defendant (landlord) should pay in order the satisfy the claim.

If you are taking a landlord to court for a deposit after having ended your tenancy, the court could order the repayment of part or all of the deposit. If you are still a tenant, the court could order the landlord to place the deposit in a protection scheme and could issue a penalty for not protecting the deposit.

To learn more, please continue reading this tenancy deposit compensation claims guide.

Tenancy Deposit Compensation Claim Calculator For 2022

If your claim does go to court, they will decide how much compensation you could get. In general, this could be between one and three times the amount you paid as a deposit. In some circumstances, this could be higher. Higher compensation amounts could be awarded if;

  • Your claim is against a professional landlord.
  • Where you rented through a lettings agency.
  • Where the deposit was not protected at all.

Tenancy deposit claims could be comprised of more than one figure. However, the table below focuses on how much you could receive in direct relation to the level of your pain and suffering. The ordeal of handling an issue with a deposit could cause you psychological harm. Stress, depression, and anxiety disorders are all possibilities. The severity of the impact on your mental health can affect how much compensation you’re awarded. This figure is known as general damages.

Legal professionals use different resources to calculate your general damages compensation. For instance, they will take a look at your psychological evaluation. Additionally, they can make use of a publication that is known as the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This was last updated in 2022.

We’ve included some examples from the JCG in the table below. As you can see, each condition is described and assigned a range of potential compensation figures. These amounts have been based on past cases in England and Wales. However, your claim needs to be addressed specifically before an accurate evaluation can be made. You should only use these JCG figures to give you a rough idea as to what any potential settlement may be worth.

Edit
Injury Details Compensation Bracket
Moderately Severe Psychiatric Damage Generally Significant problems but good prognosis. £19,070 to £54,830
Moderate Psychiatric Damage Generally Similar to work-related stress with good prognosis. £5,860 to £19,070
Less Severe Psychiatric Damage Generally Daily activity and sleep affected. £1,540 to £5,860
Moderately Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Positive prognosis and recovery with professional help. £23,150 to £59,860
Less Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Virtual full recovery in 2 years. £3,950 to £8,180
Moderate Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Largely recovered with no continuing effects. £8,180 to £23,150
Alopecia Stress induced alopecia or hair loss £3,950 to £7,340
Dermatitis Itching and irritation of one or both hands. £1,710 to £3,950

Our advisors are always here to help in any way that they can. For instance, we can also give you information on how to proceed if a landlord didn’t protect your deposit, or your deposit was returned, but not protected. Get in touch today for a bespoke estimate of your claim.

No Win No Fee Tenancy Deposit Compensation Claims Against A Landlord

If, while reading this tenancy deposit compensation claims guide, you decide you’d like legal help, you may be wondering about the costs involved.

If you are claiming compensation in relation to a tenancy deposit, you will not be able to get help in the form of legal aid. However, you could be able to claim compensation and your deposit back with a no win no fee solicitor. Known as conditional fee agreements, these types of contract allow a claimant to pursue compensation without having to worry about how much it will cost them.

How Our Specialist Solicitors Could Help You

What do you do if your landlord hasn’t protected your deposit, or if they are not fully returning it to you? One course of action is to contact a specialist solicitor who could help you to reclaim your money, and who could even secure you compensation.

Contact Legal Expert Today

To conclude our tenancy deposit compensation claims guide, we’d like to leave you with our contact details should you wish to speak to a member of our team about your case.

There are several ways to contact Legal Expert and start your tenancy deposit compensation claim on a No Win No Fee basis. You can call us and talk to one of our experts on 0800 073 8804. You can also send details of your rental deposit dispute to office@legalexpert.co.uk. Or, you can use the online claim form to send a message about your case and get a call back.

By getting in touch today, you could take your first step to letting us win your case.

Tenancy Deposit Compensation Claims Guide FAQs

How can I sue my landlord for not protecting my deposit?

Essentially, you could be able to make a tenancy deposit claim if your landlord failed to abide by the law. If your deposit was not protected and you suffered damages as a result, you could be eligible to claim. Alternatively, even if your deposit was returned in full but not protected, you could be able to claim up to three times the amount of your original deposit. To see if you could be eligible to make a claim, please get in touch with us today for a free consultation.

What happens if my landlord didn’t protect my deposit?

To find out whether your landlord has protected your deposit, you should contact a tenancy deposit protection scheme. If it turns out that your deposit wasn’t protected, you might be able to reach a written agreement with your landlord. If this fails, you could apply for compensation from the county courts. If the court finds that your landlord failed to protect your deposit, it can either order them to repay it or pay it into a tenancy deposit protection scheme within 14 days.

More tips on tenancy deposit claims

There are cases where your landlord may deduct money from the deposit you paid them. However, they can only do this if you have caused them financial losses, such as if you have failed to pay rent or have damaged the property. If you think the deductions they make are unreasonable, you could challenge them.

Additionally, if they failed to protect your deposit, you may be able to claim. It can help to gather evidence when it comes to proving that you paid your deposit to your landlord in the first place. For example, a copy of your bank statement, or a receipt if you paid it in cash. This can assist you in the future if you need to try and claim a tenancy deposit back.

It’s also important to note that an online tenancy deposit calculator may not take all considerations into account. It’s always best to speak to an advisor for tailored advice. Get in touch today, and we can offer you just that.

Also, for more information on how long you have to make a claim if your landlord failed to protect your deposit or return your deposit, call our team. They can assess whether you’re eligible to claim and the steps you can take to do so.

Related Compensation Claims Against Landlords

In addition to tenancy deposit compensation claims, at Legal Expert, we are also able to help you make a claim for damages and compensation against a current or former landlord in a variety of different circumstances. You can find these guides below.

Compensation Claims Against A Landlord
In this article, we look at circumstances in which a personal injury solicitor could help you to make a personal injury claim against a landlord.

Housing Disrepair And Rising Damp
Rising damp can lead to mould which could cause damage to both your personal property as well as your health. Find out how to make a personal injury claim in this guide.

Damage To Clothes And Personal Property
If your clothing has been damaged due to your landlord not maintaining the property correctly, you could be able to claim compensation.

In Addition, if you have had or are currently experiencing problems with your landlord, you could find information on where to get help or action you can take at these government guides.

Government Guide To Renting Privately
This article looks at things that renters and tenants need to know before they rent a property or room from a landlord.

Private Renting Tenancy Agreements
This guide provides information on what tenancy agreements are and what tenants need to know.

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