Tenancy deposit protection cases
Not all housing deposits are covered by the rules on tenancy deposit protection. To find out if your deposit is covered click here.
Deposit not protected
If you are still living in the property, you can apply to the County Court for an order for your deposit to be refunded or protected in a custodial scheme (currently run by the Deposit Protection Service). If your application is successful the court will also award you compensation of between one and three times the amount of your deposit.
If you are no longer living in the property and the landlord has not refunded your deposit in full, you can apply to the County Court for an order for your deposit to be refunded. If the court finds that your deposit should have been protected but it was not protected, it can award you compensation of between one and three times the amount of your deposit. It can do this even if it decides that your landlord is entitled to keep your deposit because you caused damage to the property.
Other breaches of deposit protection rules
You can also take legal action if -
- your deposit was protected late ie more than 30 days after you paid it
- you have not been given the required prescribed information
- you have been given the prescribed information but not within 30 days.
The law was changed in 2012 to make it clear that a tenant or former tenant can take legal action in these situations. To date, there have been very few reported cases, but it seems likely that a court would view these offences as less serious and probably only award the minimum compensation of one times the amount of the deposit.
Procedure for making a claim
This type of claim is known as a Part 8 claim.
You have to complete an N208 claim form. You have to submit all your evidence, including witness statements, with the claim form.
The defendant (the person you are making the claim against) has 14 days to respond. If the claim is defended it is treated as allocated to the Multi Track so Small Claims Track costs rules do not apply. This means there is a potential risk that if you lose you could be ordered to pay the defendant’s legal costs. You should be able to avoid this happening if you ask the court to allocate the case to the Small Claims Track instead.
Court fees
Many students do not have to pay court fees or qualify to pay at a reduced rate. To apply for a concession on fees you need to complete form EX160. If you have to pay court fees, the current fee to issue a Part 8 claim is £175.
Contact the Student Advice Centre if you need further information or assistance in making this type of claim. At the time of writing, most of the cases which have been to court have been heard at County Court level, although there are now some binding high court decisions.
For more information on the County Court click here.
Last Updated: 05/07/2013 | Disclaimer




