Written by John Kruse, one of the leading experts on Bailiff Law, this consumer friendly guide is essential reading for anyone who comes into contact with a bailiff.
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Me and and abitofapickle have come up with the following possible wording for TDS non-compliance claims. This is to be used in conjunction with the N208 county court Claim Form. Maybe this could be used as a sticky in the future?
I would add the health warning that we still aren’t 100% sure that the N208 is the correct way to go (the other option being N1). You have been warned!!
The applicant makes a claim under the Housing Act 2004 section 214(1)(a) that the deposit of £825 as required in the Assured Shorthold Tenancy for 'the rental address' was not paid in to an appropriate tenancy deposit scheme (in accordance with section 213 (1) of the Housing Act 2004) or the applicant did not received the prescribed information concerning which Tenancy Deposit Scheme was to hold the deposit, within 14 days of the defendants receipt of the deposit (in accordance with section 213 (3) of the Housing Act 2004).
1) The applicant asks that the court makes an order in accordance with the Housing Act 2004 section 214 (3) which states the following;
(a) "order the person who appears to the court to be holding the deposit to repay it to the applicant"
A total of (Insert £ Original Deposit amount here)
And I understand that the Court Must also do the following;
2) The applicant asks that the court makes an order in accordance with the Housing Act 2004. Section 214 (4) which states the following;
"The court must also order the landlord to pay to the applicant a sum of money equal to three times the amount of the deposit within the period of 14 days beginning with the date of the making of the order.”
A total of (Insert £ x3 original deposit amount here)
The claimant claims interest under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of 8% a year, from (Insert Date deposit should have been returned) to (Date you Submit the Application) of (Insert £ worked out using the court interest rate calculation from their website) and also interest at the same rate up to the date of judgment or earlier payment at a daily rate of (Insert £ worked out using the court interest rate calculation from their website).
I am therefore seeking payment of (Insert £ of original deposit + X3 Deposit), court fee and interest.
Very good work Planner. I agree with the wording, and cant find a flaw in it thus far!! Should be a definite sticky IMO.
7 years in retail customer service
Expertise in letting and rental law for 6 years
By trade - I'm an IT engineer working in the housing sector.
Please note that any posts made by myself are for information only and should not and must not be taken as correct or factual. If in doubt, consult with a solicitor or other person of equal legal standing.
Hi, am new on this forum, so fisrt want to say that you have really great info here!
Now a quick question. Regarding "following possible wording for TDS non-compliance claims" --
I started to rent May 2005 and paid deposit. TDS became official only in 2007. Was my landlords obliged to put deposit on TDS in 2007 even if the deposit was paid in 2005.
* * * When will the schemes come into effect? 6 April 2007. For any AST started on or after that date the tenancy deposit must be covered by one of the TDP schemes. Existing deposits on ASTs already in place will fall under the legislation if and when a fixed term renewal is created. A deposit on a pre-existing AST which went, before 6 April or becomes, after that date, periodic, does not have to come under the new regime.
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re: TDS Court Claims Wording
In your case, adamadam, it also depends on whether you've renewed your existing tenancy after 6th April 2007. If it has been renewed since then, and not just lapsed into a periodic tenancy (original contract expired but you still keep paying rent monthly without signing a new contract), then your deposit should have been transferred into the scheme.
In your case, adamadam, it also depends on whether you've renewed your existing tenancy after 6th April 2007. If it has been renewed since then, and not just lapsed into a periodic tenancy (original contract expired but you still keep paying rent monthly without signing a new contract), then your deposit should have been transferred into the scheme.
thanks, demon_x_slash, I thought about this. Unfortunately, no new contract/agreement was signed.
or
hmcourts-service.gov.uk/news/forms/docs/ex302_0406.pdf
hmcourts-service.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/n208_1000.pdf
hmcourts-service.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/n208a_0499.pdf
The following suggested wording is a modified version of that set out above, and is intended to be used in all cases with a minimum of adjustments. Simply copy it onto the Court form, word for word.
All that a tenant need do is fill in the amount of the Deposit, the Date of the tenancy agreement, the Address of the premises let, and the details of the period and amount claimed for interest.
"The Claimant" means the tenant and "the Defendant" means the landlord.
Suggested wording -
The Claimant claims under section 214(1)(a) of the Housing Act 2004 that the deposit of £_____ required by the tenancy agreement dated [date] in respect of the premises at [address] made between the Claimant and the Defendant was not paid into an appropriate tenancy deposit scheme (in breach of section 213(1) of the Housing Act 2004), or that the Claimant did not receive the prescribed information concerning which Tenancy Deposit Scheme was holding the deposit within 14 days of the Defendant's receipt of the deposit (in breach of section 213(3) of the Housing Act 2004).
And the Claimant asks that the court make an order:
1. That the person who appears to the court to be holding the deposit do repay it to the Claimant, in accordance with section 214(3) of the Housing Act 2004.
2. That the Defendant do pay to the Claimant, within 14 days of the making of the order, a sum of money equal to three times the amount of the deposit, in accordance with section 214(4) of the Housing Act 2004.
3. The Claimant claims interest under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of 8% a year, from [date deposit should have been returned] to [date court claim submitted] of £______ [worked out using the court's interest rate calculator on their website], and interest at the same rate up to the date of judgment or earlier payment at a daily rate of £_______ [worked out using the court's interest rate calculator on their website].
The Claimant is therefore seeking payment of £______ [four times the amount of the Deposit], plus the court fee and interest.
Notes:
1. Do not include the words in [square brackets], which provide guidance to you as to how to fill in the form.
Advice & opinions on this forum are offered informally, without any assumption of liability. Use your own judgment. Seek advice of a qualified and insured professional if you have any doubts.
Hi guys.
Thanks for your advice on this subject. It's really useful. But I was hoping someone could clarify if I can use this in my situation.
I moved into a shared house two months ago. Everything has been really lax because the landlord lives elsewhere in the UK. As people have left they have just passed the tennancies onto new people they find through letting sites on the internet etc. He has not come over to assess the property as people have come and gone. When I moved in the landlord asked me to pay the deposit directly to the tennant who was leaving, although I did ask him to send me written confirmation in an email that I was giving that to them and he would pay me back when it was my turn.
As far as tennancy agreements go, there were some photocopies of a standard agreement from the university which just seemed to be left in a folder unsigned by the landlord.
Then a couple of tennants left and us remaining ones were told to fill the spare rooms or the rent would have to go up.
The landlord also said he was not given a month's notice of these tennants leaving, although the tennants say they told him, and he is withholding their deposits.
He then panicked and said he didn't have control of what was going on so he told me to be out in a month's time. The other tennant was leaving mid-month anyway.
He told me not to pay the last month's rent and consider it as my deposit back but I found out my standing order had already left my account, so I asked him for it back and now he is making the last two of us jump through hoops to get our deposit back.
There are a few things that worry me:
-One of the previous tennants has taken out a 3 year internet contract and they would have to pay off the rest of the term to cancel it now. He says he doesn't care who sorts it or whose responsibility it is (not mine as I moved in two months ago) as long as it's sorted out by the time he gets here.
-I have also had to pay for replacement keys for previous tennants who have lost them because he has stated everything must be as he left it.
-He also says he wants written confirmation from the council that he doesn't need to pay them anything, which is something he will have to sort out with them himself once we have settled up our side. And he probably will have to pay for July since he is kicking his council tax paying tennants out!
-He is coming to stay at the end of this week to hand the property over to an agent. So how do I settle up the electricity bill and give him written confirmation of that?
He is coming for a week and wants everything sorted immediately, but he doesn't seem to care that it took Npower three weeks to send me my close of account letter last time I moved.
I have also paid for the entire month but will be moving onto a friend's floor as soon as he arrives because I don't want to live in the house with him in it.
If I threaten him with this law, he may well give me my deposit back, but I don't think that really covers the hassle it has been to move twice in two months. The turn of the month is my busiest at work and my work has suffered. It has also suffered from being constantly on the phone to the council etc to try and sort things out, not to mention the phone bills I have run up.
I have had to borrow money for the first month's rent and deposit on the new place, which I wouldn't have had to do if he hadn't kicked me out after two months, because I haven't yet received my deposit back from the place I moved into before this one because of delays getting confirmation from Npower that I had fully paid up there.
This is not to mention the little things (which aren't so little to my budget) like having to drive to work to get back home early enough to pack up my stuff, clean the house, defrost the freezer, sort things out on the telephone etc because it costs me about £6 a day. I have also bought furniture for the room, which I won't be able to fit in the new place.
Can I claim from him because he hasn't protected the deposit and he is also kicking me out with a month's notice, which is against this law? Can former tennants whose deposit he has withheld do it? - one of which lives abroad - do they need to be in the UK to attend court?
What if he gives me my deposit back when I threaten him? Can I still claim for all the agro he's caused?
Does it matter that I don't have a tennancy agreement - or one that's not worth the paper it's printed on?
Thank you for reading that huge post. I appreciate you listening.
Please create a new thread - I will attempt to adress some of the issues there.
7 years in retail customer service
Expertise in letting and rental law for 6 years
By trade - I'm an IT engineer working in the housing sector.
Please note that any posts made by myself are for information only and should not and must not be taken as correct or factual. If in doubt, consult with a solicitor or other person of equal legal standing.
By trade - I'm an IT engineer working in the housing sector.
Please note that any posts made by myself are for information only and should not and must not be taken as correct or factual. If in doubt, consult with a solicitor or other person of equal legal standing.
county court applications under section 214 of the Act
Background
Landlords and agents are required to protect their tenants’ deposits under a scheme set out by the Housing Act 2004 (“the Act”) [1].
Under these provisions, the landlord or agent is required to place any deposit into an approved tenancy deposit scheme (“TDS”) within 14 days of receipt. The landlord is also required to provide the tenant with confirmation that the deposit has been put into a TDS.
Where a landlord fails to do this, a tenant may apply to the county court to compel the landlord to repay the deposit or place it in an approved TDS (see section 214 of the Act).
“Section 214” application to the county court
The application under section 214 can only be made on limited grounds. If the court is satisfied that those grounds have been met, the court must either order the repayment of the deposit or order the person who appears to be holding the deposit to pay it into a designated account under a authorised custodial tenancy deposit scheme. The court must also order the landlord to pay a sum of money equal to three times the amount of the deposit.
CPR Part 8 procedure
The appropriate procedure for starting a “section 214 claim” is provided by Part 8 of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). A tenant will therefore need to follow the procedure set out in Part 8 of the CPR and the accompanying Practice Direction and pay the appropriate court fees in accordance with The Civil Proceedings Fees Order 2008 (if not exempt). Details about the correct claim form to be used (Form N208), the contents of the claim form and filing of evidence in support of the claim, and also the procedure to be followed by the defendant landlords are set out in this part of the CPR – for more details see footnote[2].
Detailed guidance on completing Form N208 and subsequent action to be taken by the defendant landlord is also set out in the relevant forms as attached below (also available in hard copy from any county court office):
7. To avoid any confusion, Part 56 of the CPR will be shortly be amended to state that section 214 applications must be started using the Part 8 procedure.
Disputes after deposit is placed in a TDS
Please note that this guidance is only aimed at resolving disputes about placing a deposit into a TDS. It is not aimed at resolving disputes about the return of a deposit that has been placed in a TDS – e.g. at the end of the tenancy. Each TDS scheme is supported by a free alternative dispute resolution (ADR) service whose role is to resolve such disputes about the return of a deposit that has been in a TDS. Use of the scheme’s ADR service is not compulsory but their purpose is to avoid such disputes reaching the courts.
If however parties to such disputes do decide to use the courts to resolve these particular matters, they are advised to seek separate advice about appropriate court procedures that may be available.
Further Help and Advice
There are other HMCS leaflets available from the HMCS website http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/index.htm or county court offices which are designed to help claimants and defendants, but they can only give a general idea of what is likely to happen. Court staff can advise on court procedures and provide the forms needed and help to fill them in, but they cannot give legal advice.
Free legal advice may be available from Citizens Advice Bureaux, law centres or independent advice agencies. Contact details can be found in the local phone directory and details may be displayed in local courts. Alternatively, contact Community Legal Advice on 0845 345 4345 or their website at http://www.clsdirect.org.uk/
The Claimant claims under section 214(1)(a) of the Housing Act 2004 that the deposit of £_____ required by the tenancy agreement dated [date] in respect of the premises at [address] made between the Claimant and the Defendant was not paid into an appropriate tenancy deposit scheme (in breach of section 213(1) of the Housing Act 2004), or that the Claimant did not receive the prescribed information concerning which Tenancy Deposit Scheme was holding the deposit within 14 days of the Defendant's receipt of the deposit (in breach of section 213(3) of the Housing Act 2004).
And the Claimant asks that the court make an order:
1. That the person who appears to the court to be holding the deposit do repay it to the Claimant, in accordance with section 214(3) of the Housing Act 2004.
2. That the Defendant do pay to the Claimant, within 14 days of the making of the order, a sum of money equal to three times the amount of the deposit, in accordance with section 214(4) of the Housing Act 2004.
3. The Claimant claims interest under section 69 of the County Courts Act 1984 at the rate of 8% a year, from [date deposit should have been returned] to [date court claim submitted] of £______ [worked out using the court's interest rate calculator on their website], and interest at the same rate up to the date of judgment or earlier payment at a daily rate of £_______ [worked out using the court's interest rate calculator on their website].
The Claimant is therefore seeking payment of £______ [four times the amount of the Deposit], plus the court fee and interest.
How should this be modified when part of the deposit has been repaid, but other parts are disputed?
This thread isnt for disputing partial deductions - this is to enforce TDS non compliance.
If your landlord has not complied, then partial repayment is irrelevant.
7 years in retail customer service
Expertise in letting and rental law for 6 years
By trade - I'm an IT engineer working in the housing sector.
Please note that any posts made by myself are for information only and should not and must not be taken as correct or factual. If in doubt, consult with a solicitor or other person of equal legal standing.
TDS Court Claims Wording
Claim Form. Maybe this could be used as a sticky in the future?
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Originally Posted by demon_x_slash
re: TDS Court Claims Wording
you guys either need to get out more or train up and do this proper! Bloody good stuff guys!