Deposit Query

[amz_200419]

Hi

I moved house in May 2007 and gave the deposit to an agent. I am now leaving the property and have found out that the deposit was given directly to my landlord and not put into a deposit scheme to protect it. I am told that the agent is responsible for protecting the deposit as they received it at the start of the tenancy. Where do I go from here and am I entitled to any compensation for this?

Amy

[SuperB]

Hello

Its the owner that needs to protect the deposit if the deposit was paid after the 6 april 2007 and the rent was under £2084 (high value) from memory although recent legislation may mean that even if you tried to enforce they may just register it before the court date and you are no better off.

Have they done anything wrong apart from this?

[jeffrey]

Hello

Its the owner* that needs to protect the deposit if the deposit was paid after the 6 april 2007 and the rent was under £2084 (high value) from memory although recent legislation may mean that even if you tried to enforce they may just register it before the court date and you are no better off.

* But the 2004 Act obliges L's Agent too. Read s.212(9)(a) below:

212. Tenancy deposit schemes

(1) The appropriate national authority must make arrangements for securing that one or more tenancy deposit schemes are available for the purpose of safeguarding tenancy deposits paid in connection with shorthold tenancies.

(2) to (7)...

(8) In this Chapter:
...
“shorthold tenancy” means an assured shorthold tenancy within the meaning of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Housing Act 1988 (c. 50);
“tenancy deposit”, in relation to a shorthold tenancy, means any money intended to be held (by the landlord or otherwise) as security for:
(a) the performance of any obligations of the tenant, or
(b) the discharge of any liability of his,
arising under or in connection with the tenancy.

(9) In this Chapter:
(a) references to a landlord or landlords in relation to any shorthold tenancy or tenancies include references to a person or persons acting on his or their behalf in relation to the tenancy or tenancies, and
(b) references to a tenancy deposit being held in accordance with a scheme include, in the case of a custodial scheme, references to an amount representing the deposit being held in accordance with the scheme.

[SuperB]

I beleive there is an exemption if the agent is simply introducing the tenant? enlighten me please

[jeffrey]

I beleive there is an exemption if the agent is simply introducing the tenant?

If A is "a person or persons acting on [L's] behalf in relation to the tenancy or tenancies", A is bound. What exemption do you have in mind?

[westminster]

I beleive there is an exemption if the agent is simply introducing the tenant? enlighten me please

Read the judgment on the Draycott v. Hannells case in the High Court, which you can find linked at the bottom of this blog post.
http://blog.painsmith.co.uk/2010/02/...cision-on-tdp/

[westminster]

Hi

I moved house in May 2007 and gave the deposit to an agent. I am now leaving the property and have found out that the deposit was given directly to my landlord and not put into a deposit scheme to protect it. I am told that the agent is responsible for protecting the deposit as they received it at the start of the tenancy. Where do I go from here and am I entitled to any compensation for this?

Amy

You can claim against the LL or the agent.

Non-compliance claims are risky because court fees are high, and you are exposed to the defendant's legal costs. It is therefore advisable to seek legal advice. See
http://blog.painsmith.co.uk/2009/05/...or-tds-claims/

Note that there is no 'entitlement' to the 3x deposit penalty or to 'compensation'. If the deposit is returned to you or protected late, you may lose your claim.

[jeffrey]

Ignore 'blogs'. Read the decision itself- it's quite short and reasonably clear- here: http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/markup...method=boolean

[westminster]

Ignore 'blogs'. Read the decision itself- it's quite short and reasonably clear- here: http://www.bailii.org/cgi-bin/markup...method=boolean

Read the judgment on the Draycott v. Hannells case in the High Court, which you can find linked at the bottom of this blog post.
http://blog.painsmith.co.uk/2010/02/...cision-on-tdp/

And as this particular 'blog' is that of the firm of solicitors acting for the defendant in Draycott v.Hannells, it is also worth reading their blog report of the case.

[jeffrey]

And as this particular 'blog' is that of the firm of solicitors acting for the defendant in Draycott v.Hannells, it is also worth reading their blog report of the case.

Yes, but realise that they're scarcely unbiased- hence reading the ipsissima verba is better advice.

[amz_200419]

I work at an estate agents and it was one of my colleagues who told me that the agent is at fault as they took the deposit from me and failed to ensure it was protected. Instead they just gave my deposit to my landlord without informing me and I have contacted the 3 deposit schemes in England and neither of them have my deposit protected. I was also told that within 14 days of paying my deposit I should have received a certificate confirming which deposit scheme they have been using. I'm told I could be entitled to up to 3 times the amount of the deposit as compensation for this but dont' want to run into high legal costs so just wanted some advice what to do next?

[jeffrey]

Well, you can sue L and L's agent. Nothing in the decided case changes that.

[westminster]

I'm told I could be entitled to up to 3 times the amount of the deposit as compensation for this but dont' want to run into high legal costs so just wanted some advice what to do next?

Has the tenancy ended? Is LL refusing to return the deposit? What do you want to achieve - to get the 3x deposit penalty, or just to get your deposit back?