Many leases do not clearly spell out how and when the landlord will return the money to you, but (as with all lease clauses), you may be able to negotiate on the timing and procedures for the return of your deposit. Deposit Not Protected Within 30 Days. Time should be allowed for an inspection at the end of a tenancy, and for any repairs/ cleaning to be carried out. If your deposit should be protected. As well as repaying deposits to tenants, landlords in England and Wales could also be required to place deposits into a specially protected scheme backed by the government. Deposit Protection Service Telephone: 0330 303 … Check your landlord has protected your deposit if you're not sure. Properly deposit a security deposit in a bank account separate from the landlord's funds and protected from creditors; 45 Transfer a security deposit to a new owner; or Return the security deposit or balance that you have a right to within 30 days of the end of your tenancy. If your deposit should be protected but isn't, you might be able to claim compensation of 1-3 times the amount. Now, a section 21 notice may only be served if: Some feel that if T did not suffer financial risk and this was LL's only transgression, the min 1x deposit is fair since deposit already returned in full. Where the deposit either hasn’t been protected at all, or wasn’t protected within 30 days, then, no section 21 notice may be served until a new procedure is followed as described in the newly added sub-section 2A of section 215 Housing Act 2004. Deposit protection schemes are the law. You'll also get your deposit back, though there may be money taken off for any damage you've caused or if you owe rent. If your landlord refuses to return your security deposit even after receiving the aforementioned letter, you may have no choice but to sue for your deposit … All this should be done with a paper trail showing each individual action. In some cases where the deposit was returned but not protected, you could still be able to take action against your current or former landlord. 3 Brits lost over £1 billion last year in unclaimed security deposits … That would be clearer that the deposit was returned in full thus allowing the future service of a section 21 notice. Contact a tenancy deposit scheme (TDP) if you’re not sure whether your deposit has been protected. the deposit first returned in full, then a new tenancy drawn up, then the deposit retaken and protected. The deposit paid by the tenant at the start of a tenancy, typically equivalent to a month’s rent, now has to be paid into a deposit protection scheme at the outset of the tenancy. Although there is no obligation to protect the deposit in an authorised scheme, a section 21 can not be served unless the deposit is protected or repaid. Tenant Obligations for the Return of the Deposit. 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