Deposit protection and tenancy documents

Key topic: Deposit protection and tenancy documents

Award: £200

Resolved by: Early resolution  

What happened?

The complainant landlord said:  

• they asked the agent to send confirmation that the deposit was protected as required by law and for the deposit to be paid to him, following the tenant moving out

• the agent sent nothing and did not even respond

• he has still received nothing and there have been issues relating to the tenant paying rent, the EICR certificates, inspections and Section 21 notices

• this poor service has now led to incurring solicitor fees  

The agent responded, saying:

• due to an oversight with their Client Money Protect membership renewal, their mydeposits membership was automatically cancelled

• due to this administrative error and non-protection, the full deposit was refunded to the tenant

• the tenant suffered with their mental health and the property wasn’t well maintained

• this became a problem when maintaining the property and its certificates  

What evidence was provided?

Written communication, pictures, contracts and notices  

What was decided and why?
Deposit protection

1. While it was clear that the deposit was unprotected, it is outside our authority to award this amount to the complainant as it belongs to the tenant, who could decide to take independent legal advice on the non-protection issue

2. Any solicitor expenses and claim for damages to the property would need to be against the tenant direct, through the courts

Poor service

1. The evidence also showed that the agent delayed responding to the complainant’s requests for  documentation and information and putting the complainant at a disadvantage, with no deposit to use towards damage, agent was to compensate the complainant £300  

How can you avoid this happening in future?

• Make you are compliant with the law and all memberships for government approved schemes and insurances are all in place for your business

• Provide consumers with the documentation or information they are entitled to or have requested in a reasonable time  

• Respond to all requests for information or reports of any issue as soon as possible and keep communicating with regular updates

• If there is a good reason you are unable to provide any documents requested, you should provide an explanation why

For more information on deposit protection, visit our partner, mydeposits, website here.