Deposit protection TDS outcome - undisputed part of deposit not returned?

[mh1985]

Hi

I recently moved out of a place and we couldn't agree with the LL/LA over a £150 fee for repairs/damages, as it was something that was pre-existing. We then took this to the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) adjudication service.

As there was no inventory taken or check-in/check-out the TDS service eventually awarded us the £150 we disputed. However the total deposit was £950 and I had put £800 down as "agreed to be returned but not yet sent".

To me this meant that TDS would also return this part as standard since the £150 was only in dispute. The LL however claimed £950 on their side of the dispute.

It seems like TDS has assumed the LL has paid us the £800 whereas from the wording of their form
I thought that they would cover the whole deposit since anything the LL did not mention on there would be returned to us since it is our deposit not the landlords to claim "by default".

The only disputed amount was ever £150...although the LA have been sly in claiming £950 on the from, £0 was awarded to them but they still haven't paid the £800. This is 3 months after the tenancy ended now.

So I was hoping, please can someone advise on how to get this £800 back from the LL/LA ?

I have a feeling they won't be very cooperative so will have to do a letter before action and small claims court route. If anyone could point me in the right direction for that it would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[R0b]

Re: Deposit protection TDS outcome - undisputed part of deposit not returned?

My initial thoughts would be that the TDS may also be liable here, you recover your sums from TDS and they will have to recover the £800 back from the LL, or you could make them co-defendants on the claim. Was £950 put into the scheme by th LL?

Unless agreed the TDS wont release the funds until both sides confirm that there is a specific amount disputed and the rest is to be returned. If one disputes a different amount of money to the other then the funds wont be released until dispute resolved.

From what I have understood, the TDS has agreed that the £150 disputed is to be returned to you but the TDS service has also handed back the £800 to the LL? What do you mean by the wording on the form, are you talking about the LL's wording or the decision of the adjudicator? Is it possible to upload a copy of the decision with personal info removed?

[mh1985]

Re: Deposit protection TDS outcome - undisputed part of deposit not returned?

I think the TDS scheme is one where if there's a dispute that amount is sent to them, and they can then award according to their decision, I thought it was more like the others where they hold the full amount. However when I did the application. I thought the LA was going to honour what they said and repay the £800 straight to us, but they still haven't.

Here is what I mean by the wording, "amount agreed to be returned but not yet received by me/tenants"- The LA were originally only asking for £150 out of the deposit but I was not willing to pay that as we had not damaged anything. So from the TDS perspective we were not in agreement about this at the TDS stage as they tried to claim £950 in their response. However TDS have only awarded us £150 and the LA zero as you can see below.

[Kati]

Re: Deposit protection TDS outcome - undisputed part of deposit not returned?

[MENTION=15129]Crazy council[/MENTION] might be able to add some advice??

[R0b]

Re: Deposit protection TDS outcome - undisputed part of deposit not returned?

Ah yes i see, I have only had my deposit with DPS and I am assuming TDS are the same. The full deposit is held and when a dispute is raised, any amount of the deposit that is not in dispute is to be returned to the tenant, with the outstanding amount held until it has been decided on by an adjudicator.

Now there are two types of schemes usually, custodial and insured. Custodial means that the deposit is held with TDS to look after and the deposit is released once agreed between both parties of the amount. An insured scheme will be where the LL retains the deposit but pays a fee to TDS to protect it and the LL is responsible for returning the deposit.

Did you get a deposit ID when you first gave your deposit to the LL or at any stage of the tenancy and do you know if its custodial or insured? Did you follow that template on their website and did you state what the total amount of deposit was which was (a) not in dispute and (b) in dispute as it shows there.

Also, do you have any correspondence in which you both agreed that the amount disputed was £150 and not £950? emails, texts etc?

[mh1985]

Re: Deposit protection TDS outcome - undisputed part of deposit not returned?

Thanks for the replies,

We did get a deposit ID, and I think TDS is an insured scheme.
That template picture is the exact one that I used when I applied to them to do the dispute, that is a screenshot of what I sent so yes to a) and b).
and unfortunately no, it was only over the phone that they said £150 to fix the "damage"

I did just call TDS, they were very good and they are going to get in touch with the LA to remind them they need to release the undisputed part which is still with them. We will also be calling them ourselves.

Sounds like all is not lost just going to be a few days wait before the LA can be contacted.

[Crazy council]

Re: Deposit protection TDS outcome - undisputed part of deposit not returned?

Hi

Now the TDS has made a dissension, you have to give the LL time to repy ( 14 days usualy ), then letter before claim, informing him that you will request the allowed 3 times deposit to cover the extra inconvenience and costs of having to fight him for money thats not disputed.

Sounds like the scheme managers are going to chase him up, see what they come up with over the next week or so, they are general quite good

[mh1985]

Re: Deposit protection TDS outcome - undisputed part of deposit not returned?

Thanks for the reply @Crazy council

I do have the feeling it will be like trying to get blood out of stone though, my other housemate paid an extra months rent in error and it took him months to get that back with them claiming they had sent it twice, they refuse to do bank transfers (although will only accept rent this way) and only post cheques.

That would be nice to get 3x the deposit, it has been dragging on for months now. What is the code or law that this is based on, I didn't know you could request that much? (I have heard of something like that for LL not protecting the deposit with one of the schemes)

[R0b]

Re: Deposit protection TDS outcome - undisputed part of deposit not returned?

Hi

Now the TDS has made a dissension, you have to give the LL time to repy ( 14 days usualy ), then letter before claim, informing him that you will request the allowed 3 times deposit to cover the extra inconvenience and costs of having to fight him for money thats not disputed.

Sounds like the scheme managers are going to chase him up, see what they come up with over the next week or so, they are general quite good

I thought the court can order up to 3 times the amount of deposit back where the LL has failed to protect the deposit using a deposit scheme? Not aware of being able to claim the 3 times amount because they have not given it back within 14 days?

[Crazy council]

Re: Deposit protection TDS outcome - undisputed part of deposit not returned?

Hi
@R0b I will check that on monday but the advise we was given ages ago was that, if you unduly mess a tenant about with a deposit, ( iether with claims or delays ) that they could claim up to 3*back. as well as the auto punishment for not putting it in a correct scheeme, it was to stop LLs delaying paying tenants back and that causing them trouble moving.

It was in a quarterly advisory a few years ago so i will check if it was biased on best practice or cases.

[leclerc]

Re: Deposit protection TDS outcome - undisputed part of deposit not returned?

@crazy council does this help in that regards: http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_ad...nsation_claims

[R0b]

Re: Deposit protection TDS outcome - undisputed part of deposit not returned?

You could be right, I just wasn't aware of any cases surrounding it, only in relation to complying with the initial requirements i.e. protecting the deposit, giving prescribed information etc. Did a quick bit of searching and the only thing that is referenced where a landlord fails to pay the undisputed amount back, the insurance administrator would pay the tenant, in this case TDS (Halsbury's Laws). The LL of has obligations under the insurance scheme and the Housing Act states that LL's should comply with all instructions from the scheme administrator.

Of course if you have anything else, please update us.