A landlord who fell victim to a letting agent that failed to protect her tenant’s deposit in time has been forced to pay him £1,600 along with £1,500 legal costs.
The female landlord, from West Essex, was taken to a property tribunal by her vindictive tenant when it was discovered her letting agency had only protected his deposit with an approved scheme six months after the statutory 30-day deadline.
Tenant tip-off
The tenant had caused water damage to the property during his 18-month stay between 2000 and 2021 and she had sought to deduct money from his deposit via the deposit scheme’s redress process. The tenant was then tipped off about late protection of the tenancy deposit and had tried to claim up to three times his monthly rent – about £5,000 – in compensation via a ‘no-win, no-fee’ firm of solicitors.
Her letting agent went bust soon after the tenant left the property but her deposit scheme refused to give her any information that might help; the lettings agency has subsequently started trading again under new ownership and says the dispute is between the landlord and the firm’s previous owners.
Template letters
She tells LandlordZONE that the tenant did not turn up to court and that the judge was not impressed with the “extortionate” fees claimed using template letters, while he also agreed that she had been dealing with rogue agents.
Although she had hoped they would throw the case out, the landlord says she’s relieved it’s all over. However, she adds: “I feel like I’m the victim as the tenants have got their deposit back. I know that it’s ultimately up to the landlord to protect a deposit but there are many landlords out there who put their trust into agents and are unaware of their responsibilities. I only wish there was some way I could claim some money back from the agent.”
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