Must deposit claim be settled before small claims procedure can be initiated?

[dot2dot]

My tenant under an AST which was in its second year recently vacated the property (in England) two months after being served s.8 and s.21 notices, but left without providing a forwarding address and still owing more than four months’ rent. In addition, the tenant had removed many items of furniture and furnishings during the tenancy, but did not return them before leaving and has failed to take up my agent’s and my various invitations to do so at an agreed time. I intend to bring a claim in the small claims court for rent arrears and compensation for missing items, but do I need to wait until the matter of the deposit has been settled (don’t know when that will be) or can I bring a claim (under the MCOL procedure) for the full rent owed, plus compensation for the missing furniture, and adjust it later if/when the deposit is paid out to me? Needless to say, the deposit wouldn’t cover all of the rent arrears, let alone the rent and compensation I want to claim. Also, at what point is the claimant in a small claims procedure required to produce all the documentary evidence to support the claim? When issuing the claim, or when sending in the Particulars of Claim, if sent separately? None of the guidance I’ve read makes it clear.

[jpkeates]

You can't adjust a claim after it's made.

The courts will want to see that you have used (and exhausted) every avenue available to you prior to making a small claim.
So complete the deposit process (or reclaim the deposit using the single claim route if the tenant stops being involved).

If you're using Money Claim Online, the details of the claim you submit are very brief. You will be asked to submit a more detailed claim and evidence later in the process.

[IP MAN]

What do courts typically issue for a flagrant breach NOT protecting the deposit?

3x or less ?

[jpkeates]

My guess is that more deposit non-protection issues are "resolved" by out of court settlements raised by professional claims companies than are settled in court.

But the penalty is discretionary and it would depend on the severity of the issue. No protection and returned in full, or with agreed deductions would be less serious than no protection and kept by the landlord.