Landlord Didn’t Protect Deposit Within 30 Days

Any landlord must, by law, place a deposit received from a tenant in one of three government-approved deposit protection schemes. The landlord must do this within 30 days of receiving the deposit.

Section 213 of the Housing Act 2004 contains the relevant provision. Failure to comply can risk a fine of up to three times the value of the deposit sum.

When this legislation was drafted, there was no provision for late protection and also no penalty. Consequently, many landlords did not lodge the deposit money until they had to, such as just prior to issuing a Section 21 Notice.

The Localism Act 2011 introduced a time limit of 30 days. Any breach of the 30-day period can result in the same level of fine had the landlord not protected the deposit at all.

Correct lodging of a deposit in a recognised scheme will create a deposit certificate sent directly from the scheme to the tenant. This is proof that the landlord has complied with the law and will also state the date of deposit.

A tenant can ask the court to order the landlord to return a deposit if there is no evidence it has been placed in one of the recognised schemes. The court could also order the landlord to pay the deposit into a TDP scheme within 14 days.