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Protecting a tenant’s deposit is just one of the many important tasks you have to do as a landlord. Landlords have to place deposits in a deposit protection scheme.
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Sometimes, however, a landlord decides that the tenant has caused damage or similar and elects to claim this money from the deposit. If the tenant doesn’t agree with the decision, both parties can enter the adjudication process whereby an independent third party steps in to resolve matters.
Landlords Don’t Follow the Correct Procedure
According to the head of adjudication of one of the main deposit protection schemes, many landlords are failing to follow the correct procedure and are therefore losing their cases:
“Our Alternative Dispute Resolution service ensures an impartial adjudication for both landlord and tenant, but is reliant on both parties submitting proper evidence in good time to work effectively. We do everything we can to make sure both parties understand what’s needed and by when, and it’s important that both landlords and tenants meet the 14-calendar day deadline.”
Evidence Required
If a landlord fails to send in any evidence to prove their case, the adjudication panel will automatically rule in favour of the tenant.
It isn’t just landlords who are failing to provide the right information – tenants are no better. 23% of tenants missed the deadlines or didn’t send in any evidence, compared to 18% of landlords.
Luckily most tenancies end without the hassle of a deposit dispute, but when disputes do occur, the main area of disagreement is property damage.
