Tenants: Deposits: What should I do if the landlord does not protect the deposit?

Deposits: What should I do if the landlord does not protect the deposit?

A simple way to check if your deposit has been protected is to contact each of the 3 deposit protection schemes. These 3 schemes are:

1.    Deposit Protection Services

2.    My Deposits

3.    Tenancy Deposit Scheme.

If you discover that your deposit is not protected then you should immediately contact your landlord/ agent.

If no satisfaction is gained via your agent or landlord, you do have the option of legal action.

One should always seek advice before embarking on this route.

Before taking this option, one should always write to your landlord to give them the chance to protect the deposit or/ and provide you with the relevant information.

A court can order the landlord to pay compensation if it is proved that:

-       The deposit was not protected at all.

-       The deposit was not protected within 30 days of receiving it.

-       Information regarding the scheme was not given to you within 30 days.

The compensation can be between one and 3 times as much as the deposit and is up to the courts discretion. The court can also order your landlord to pay your deposit into a deposit protection scheme.

It is also worth noting, that currently, even if your tenancy has ended, assuming it did so after the 6^th April 2013, you may still have a legal case for compensation.