I have an ex tenant who is claiming ( by way of counterclaim) 3 x his deposit because he says it was 1 day over the 30 days maximum when first protect two years ago and also because it was left unprotected for 10 days at some point during the tenancy even though it was subsequently re-protected and stay as such until the end of the tenancy. I’ve had a look around case law and everything I’ve read so far seems to suggest that tenants cannot claim for 3 x the deposit after tenancy has ended?, even if there was a contravention during the time of the tenancy. Any advice will be gratefully received.
Question
Deposits and Tenancy Deposit Schemes (England)
Can a Tenant claim for 3 x deposit after tenancy has ended
Answer
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1 Comment
Unfortunately, changes made in 2012 by the Localism Act changed the law clarifying that ex-tenants can make a claim for the deposit penalty. They have 6 years to make a claim.
However, the penalty is between 1 and 3 times deposit at the discretion of the court (but the court must give at least 1 times).
It’s likely you’ll be at the lower end of the scale if it was only missed by one day.
Please see this article showing how a landlord acted promptly reduced the level of the penalty.