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Deposit Claim Dispute Resolution for Landlords

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Landlords need to get deposit protection right. If you take a tenancy deposit, it must be protected in a government-approved scheme within 30 days, and the tenant, together with anyone who paid the deposit on the tenant’s behalf, must be given the required prescribed information within the same 30-day period. 

This is a common source of claims against landlords. A deposit may have been protected, but there can still be a breach if the prescribed information was late, incomplete, unsigned where required, or not served on every relevant person.  If the rules have not been followed, a tenant can bring a claim under section 214 of the Housing Act 2004 and the court must order the landlord to pay between one and three times the deposit, in addition to dealing with the deposit itself. 

Deposit protection also affects possession claims. Since 1 May 2026, private landlords can no longer serve section 21 notices to end assured tenancies, and possession must usually be pursued using the revised section 8 grounds. However, deposit compliance still matters. To use most possession grounds, landlords must be able to show that the deposit was protected, the scheme requirements were complied with, and the prescribed information was given. If this cannot be proved, or the deposit has not been returned, the landlord may be restricted on the grounds they can rely on.

The key point for landlords is to check the paperwork before there is a dispute or before taking possession steps. You should be able to evidence when the deposit was received, where it was protected, when the prescribed information was served, who it was served on, and whether the tenancy has been renewed or varied since the deposit was first taken.

If there is a problem, deal with it early. Depending on the facts, the solution may involve serving missing information, correcting defective documents, returning the deposit, agreeing deductions, settling a claim, or adjusting the possession strategy.

Our specialist property litigation team act nationally and advise landlords, property investors and letting agents on deposit protection issues, deposit claims and possession strategy under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. If you are concerned about a deposit issue we’d love to assist you.

Key Contact

Laura Albon
Partner
Alex Cook
Senior Partner
No Win No Fee Eligibility Calculator
This process takes no longer than 2 minutes and is step one in assessing whether or not we would be prepared to offer you a CFA.

This is a non binding indication whether Helix Law Ltd might be able to offer you a "No Win, No Fee" agreement (also known as a Conditional Fee Agreement, or CFA). There is no cost of obligation for using this service and each case is assessed on its merits.

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Area of work

We only enter into CFA funding agreements in relation to some commercial, property and construction disputes. We therefore need to understand what type of dispute you have so that we can assess whether a CFA might be appropriate.

We only offer No win, No Fee (CFA) funding in some commercial, property and construction disputes. We do not offer CFA funding in harassment, personal injury or housing disputes. If you are seeking CFA funding in another area other than those listed please use our Contact Us form at the bottom of this page
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Is the value in dispute more than £10,000?

This is important because typically it is only possible to recover legal costs, including costs funded on a ‘No Win, No Fee’ (or ‘Conditional Fee Agreement’), where the amount in dispute is over £10,000. If you have a dispute where your losses and damages are less than £10,000 it is unlikely we can offer you a CFA.

If your dispute is worth less than £10,000, it will typically be allocated by the Court to the Small Claims Track. In small claims usually costs are not recoverable and therefore we cannot offer you a CFA in these circumstances. There is always risk you have not fully identified the amount in dispute or you may want to consider paying us a fixed fee for fixed advice on your prospects of success and/or the process moving forwards, in which case please do contact us.
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Is the value in dispute more than £10,000?

This is important because typically it is only possible to recover legal costs, including costs funded on a ‘No Win, No Fee’ (or ‘Conditional Fee Agreement’), where the amount in dispute is over £10,000. If you have a dispute where your losses and damages are less than £10,000 it is unlikely we can offer you a CFA.

If your dispute is worth less than £10,000, it will typically be allocated by the Court to the Small Claims Track. In small claims usually costs are not recoverable and therefore we cannot offer you a CFA in these circumstances. There is always risk you have not fully identified the amount in dispute or you may want to consider paying us a fixed fee for fixed advice on your prospects of success and/or the process moving forwards, in which case please do contact us.
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Is the value in dispute more than £10,000?

This is important because typically it is only possible to recover legal costs, including costs funded on a ‘No Win, No Fee’ (or ‘Conditional Fee Agreement’), where the amount in dispute is over £10,000. If you have a dispute where your losses and damages are less than £10,000 it is unlikely we can offer you a CFA.

If your dispute is worth less than £10,000, it will typically be allocated by the Court to the Small Claims Track. In small claims usually costs are not recoverable and therefore we cannot offer you a CFA in these circumstances. There is always risk you have not fully identified the amount in dispute or you may want to consider paying us a fixed fee for fixed advice on your prospects of success and/or the process moving forwards, in which case please do contact us.
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The dispute is:

Generally speaking tenants will not own assets. That means you might ‘win’ but not recover damages and costs- even if the court orders the tenant to pay. Whereas if your dispute is with a property owner we can usually recover your costs and damages from their share of the property.

A CFA is unlikely to be workable in this scenario, but we may still be able to assist you with our services; please contact us via this page.
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Is your claim about an unpaid application for payment and/​or retention greater than £20,000?

This is important as it helps us assess the likely cost; benefit for you, and our ability to offer you CFA funding.

A CFA is unlikely to be workable in this scenario, but we may still be able to assist you with our services; please contact us via this page.
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Do you have a contract in writing or registered shares in your name?

The more evidence you have in support of your allegations, the better your prospects of success. The higher your prospects of success, the more likely we can offer you a CFA funding arrangement.

Where you lack documents in writing, there can be greater complexity. We need to review your circumstances and background in more detail before being able to consider alternative funding with you. Please provide details of your circumstances here and we will contact you - anchor to commercial sherholder form.

Is the issue arising recently or within the last 6 years at most?

All disputes are subject to limitation periods- this is the period of time in which a claim must be issued. Most limitation periods in our work are 6 years. There can be exceptions and upto 12 years is possible, but this is a factor that can increase risk to you and to us and might lead to us declining to offer a CFA. With the passage of time memories can/will also fade, and evidence can be lost or destroyed. Acting promptly can therefore be important.

We need to assess your position with you before being able to confirm funding.

Does the opponent own property in England and Wales?

We want to ensure we can force your opponent to pay if they refuse to pay. If your opponent has assets, usually property, we can have greater confidence of recovering money, property, or assets (or all the above), for you. Otherwise there can be risk that you have a good claim with good prospects of success, but if your oppoennt doesn’t own anything, you might not recover damages or losses.

We need to assess your position with you before being able to confirm funding.
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Thank you for filling out the form

Based on the form, we think there is a good prospect we will be prepared to offer you a No Win No Fee agreement (CFA). Please confirm your contact details and a member of our team will contact you usually within 1 hour during usual business hours.

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“This is a fantastic little firm who go and beyond to support you. I was successful in a previous litigation. The tenacity and effort was tremendous from everyone there. There’s an enormous amount of business acumen. On previous advice, a pragmatic approach taken, I was so grateful that it led me to apply my own commonsense in doing the right thing, even if it was to not take up further dispute. Really smart people and outstanding service!!!”
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I dealt with Fiona on a HMO issue and dispute i was having with a tenant. Many other companies had said they were too busy or couldn’t have been less interested. I then came across Fiona who was unbelievably helpful from the get go and gave such useful advice. Within an hour of my enquiry she had got in touch. She followed up immediately with an email following our call. 5* service. I will definitely be using her services again in the future.
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Excellent service in dealing with landlords section 21 order’s.. put my mind at ease very professional I would highly recommend using this Law Firm they know what they are doing and act very promptly.
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Laura at Helix Law has been so incredibly helpful with an enquiry I had. She has so much knowledge and explains things in detail, however in a way I could easily understand. I would highly recommend to anyone. Thanks Laura.
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Bianca O’Donnell and Alex Cook recently provided me with professional legal property advice. There were significant financial repercussions had it gone wrong. Their ‘Stay Calm’ approach and methodical dissection of key issues was most impressive. They dealt quickly and efficiently to the last minute, providing clear advice on a potential breach of contract. Helix Law and legal advice go hand-in-hand. Helix Law have previously provided advice in various business matters over the years. They are an invaluable resource. Thank you Bianca and Alex!
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