Deposit not logged with DPS

[ej852]

Hi,
I'm new to this site so please be gentle with me but I really need your advice.

My tenant is on a six month AST and his rent was due on the 1st June and hasn't paid, he's made it quite clear that he isn't going to pay going forward. I've requested a meeting to discuss this (giving him 48hrs notice) but he won't let me into my property.

He has said that he is consulting with a solicitor and will contact me shortly?

The complication is that I didn't protect their deposit at the start of the tenancy. Naive I know.

I am worried that he could now sue me for 3x the deposit, as well as possibly loosing out on 3-4 months rent.

1. Can I prevent the above by protecting the deposit now?

2. If he is also not paying council tax etc, can the council come after me for this money?

I only have this 1 property that I rent out so am not a large landlord. His none payment of the rent means that I cannot pay the mortgage and I am now concerned that it could get repossessed if I follow the lengthy process of legally trying to get him out via a S8 or S21.

Any advice would be welcome.
Thanks

[jta]

1. Yes. Protect it immediately.

2. No. The council tax is the tenant's responsibility.

[Interlaken]

Agree with jta, protect immediately and write giving tenant the details. I suggest you use the Deposit Protection Service online as it is straightforward and will give you ID details of your deposit immediatley.

Tenant is no doubt going to consult solicitor to try and fleece you. Since you will l have done the right thing that does improve the situation.

You need to get rid of this tenant as he is unlikely to become a model tenant now so suggest you go to a SPECIALIST landlord/tenant solicitor (not just a local family solicitor) to get things moving. The sooner he is gone the sooner you get rent again and always protect the deposit immediately.

[Conflicted]

Hi,

I read on here that apparently late deposits registered with DPS are NOT protected in the same way and the landlord is still exposed to the 3x rent thing, however, if done through one of the insurance based schemes (such as mydesposits) it is.

That's my two pence, hope it helps. You can search on this forum for that topic, I think it was within 3 or so months.

C

[remyrobson]

My understanding is that the DPS is the only service that will protect deposits late anyway...

[thesaint]

The solicitors letter will most likely never arrive, so serve an eviction notice immediately after protecting the deposit.
When did the tenancy start?

[westminster]

I read on here that apparently late deposits registered with DPS are NOT protected in the same way and the landlord is still exposed to the 3x rent thing, however, if done through one of the insurance based schemes (such as mydesposits) it is.

There was a high court ruling earlier this year (therefore binding on lower courts) which said that the 3x deposit sanction does not apply if the deposit is protected late with the DPS (http://www.depositprotection.com/). It is possible the ruling may be overturned by a couple of cases heard at the appeal court last month, but we don't know the results of these cases as yet.

And Remyrobson is correct; TDS and MyDeposits won't protect a deposit late. DPS will.