If your landlord didn’t follow the deposit rules

You might be able to get compensation if your landlord didn't follow the rules when you paid your deposit. The rules your landlord should have followed depend on the date your contract ended.

Before you go to court

You might be able to negotiate with your landlord instead of going to court. The court will expect you to have done this.

Write a letter to your landlord telling them:

• they haven't complied with the deposit protection scheme rules

• you could get 1 to 3 times your deposit in compensation if you go to court

• what they have to do so you don’t take them to court - for example, they have to return your deposit

Tell your landlord you want a reply within 21 days. If they don't reply or won't negotiate with you, you can take them to court to get compensation.

Get evidence

It's best if you get evidence from the 3 deposit protection schemes to prove your landlord didn’t follow the rules when you paid your deposit. The 3 deposit protection schemes are Deposit Protection Services, My Deposits and Tenancy Deposit Scheme.

You can find the contact details of your deposit protection scheme on their website.

What you need to ask them depends on whether your contract has ended - and when.

If your contract ended on or before 30 November 2022, email them and ask them to confirm your deposit isn't protected, or was protected late. 

If your contract hasn’t ended, or it ended on or after 1 December 2022, email them and ask them to confirm if:

• your deposit isn’t protected

• your landlord failed to meet the initial requirements of the scheme

Taking your landlord to court

You'll need to follow 3 steps to take your landlord to court:

1. fill in the court form

2. send your form and pay the court fee - you might be able to get the fee back if you win your case

3. go to a hearing

Step 1 - fill in the form

What form you need to use to take your landlord to court depends on the date your contract ended.

Step 2 - send the form to your local county court

You can find the address of your local county court on GOV.UK.

You'll need to pay a fee when you send your claim form. The amount you pay will depend on the amount of deposit you're trying to get back. You should get your fee back if you win your case.

Check how much your court fee will be on GOV.UK.

If you’re on a low income or claiming certain benefits, you might be able to get money off your court fees. Check how to get help paying court and tribunal fees on GOV.UK.

The court will then write to you telling you to send any other evidence you have. They'll tell you when and where you need to send it.

The court will also write to your landlord and ask them for their evidence. You'll get a copy of this before you go to court.

You'll be able to send an updated witness statement to the court if you want to reply to your landlord's evidence.

Step 3 - going to the hearing

The court will write to you and tell you when your hearing will be.

You'll have to go to the hearing. You'll need to talk about your case and answer questions so it's a good idea to be prepared.

Read your claim form and witness statement again to help you remember all the points you want to talk about.

Take a friend or relative with you for support, or to make notes if you think that would help.

You should still go to court if your landlord protects your deposit properly or pays it back to you before the date of the hearing. You should still get compensation, so it's worth going.

Getting the court's decision

If the court agrees that your landlord hasn't followed the correct rules, it will tell your landlord to either:

• pay your deposit back to you within 14 days

• pay your deposit into a deposit protection scheme within 14 days

The court will also tell your landlord to pay compensation of 1 to 3 times the amount of your deposit.

You're likely to get more compensation if your deposit wasn't protected than if it was just protected a few days late.

If your landlord doesn't pay

If your landlord doesn't pay you what you're owed you might have to take further action. You can find out what action you can take on GOV.UK.

You can also talk to an adviser.