Within 14 days of paying your deposit you should receive information about where your deposit is being protected.
If your landlord has not protected your deposit, you will have more protection from being evicted – a court should not allow your landlord to evict you using the Section 21 procedure as this won’t be valid if your deposit has not been protected. However, there are other routes landlords can use to evict you if you are in breach of your tenancy agreement or behind on your rent.
If your deposit has not been protected or your landlord or agent has not followed the rules to protect your deposit you can take court action, during or after your tenancy. You may be able to make a claim for compensation of between 1 and 3 times the value of your deposit. You can also claim for your deposit to be protected or to claim a refund of your deposit.
A court can order your landlord to pay compensation if they:
- Fail to protect the deposit
- take longer than 30 days to protect your deposit
- fail to give you details of the scheme used within 30 days
If you would like to take action against your landlord or letting agency then please contact the Advice Centre to discuss your options.
You can check if your deposit has been protected by checking on the websites of each of the protection schemes: