From Advice Centre
It’s the time of year when most student tenancies are nearing an end and so it’s time to get your deposit back. Your landlord should return your deposit within 10 days of the end of your tenancy. Don’t wait until September to take action if your landlord delays or argues about returning your money.
If there are any disputes over your deposit, contact your Tenancy deposit Scheme (TDS). Unless your landlord can prove that there is a good reason not to return some or all of your deposit the TDS can step in to make sure you get your money back, but only if you contact them within 3 months of your tenancy ending.
If you don’t know which scheme your deposit is with ask your landlord NOW which TDS has been used. Your landlord should have protected your deposit and given you information about the scheme used- if they haven’t the courts can order them to pay up to 3 times the amount of your deposit as compensation on top of returning the deposit due to you.
Due to new rules (see below) when you pay the deposit for your next tenancy your new landlord has 30 days to protect your deposit in a scheme and give you information about it. If they don’t you can take action straight away- you don’t need to wait until the tenancy is over. The court can order the landlord to protect the deposit and can award up to 3 times the deposit as compensation to the tenant.
For more information contact the advice centre: Call 0114 225 4148 or e-mail advicecentre@shu.ac.uk
Important Tenancy Deposit Rule Change!
The Government has revised the penalty rules which apply if your landlord fails to comply with the statutory requirements when you hand in a deposit The new rules are to come into force on the 6th April 2012. They will affect deposits which the landlords are already holding if they have not already complied with the existing requirements. They apply to all new deposits as well.
The new rules mean:
1. Deposits under assured shorthold tenancies must be protected within 30 days of receipt
2. The tenant/s (you) (and anyone else paying towards the deposit e.g. a parent) must be given the prescribed information within 30 days of the landlord receiving the deposit. N.B. This is not just a copy of the official receipt that the landlord will receive from the scheme administrator – see below. The landlord must give you (and anyone else paying towards the deposit) a copy of the relevant schemes tenants leaflet as well.
3. Failure to comply within the new 30 day time limit means that the landlord could have to pay a penalty of between one and three times the amount of the deposit. There is no provision allowing any extension of time.
4. Penalties for non-compliance can now be claimed even once tenancies have ended so that former tenants can claim for up to six years and a claim can be made even if the deposit has been refunded (unless the tenancy has already come to an end no later than the start date in April 2012).
5. The 30 day period starts on the day of receipt of the deposit. This day is included in working out the 30 day period (even if the tenancy starts later). The day the scheme notifies the landlord that the protection is effective is the key date and, in the case of prescribed information, it is the date that it has actually given to you (and any third paying towards the deposit) which is crucial.
6. The new rules will apply to deposits which the landlords are already holding when they come into force. The landlord will be allowed 30 day period of grace from the start date to protect these deposits and/or give the prescribed information if they have not done so already.
