Landlord didn't protect my deposit and won't return it

[AChickenNamedDoris]

Hi all, my previous landlord is refusing to return my deposit due to "damage due to lack of cleaning". I can only assume he's referring to damage to walls caused by black mould, which was a big problem and he did know about it and did nothing at the time. There were leaks from the flat above and a leaky pipe outside which created damp conditions, I reported these at the time and did try to clean it but it kept coming back! The worst of the damage was behind a large mirror as I didn't know it was there til it was too late. I also found out he didn't put my deposit in a deposit protection scheme and I know I can make a court claim for this. I've written to him and tried to get him to return my deposit without going to court. However he is claiming that he has pictures and a report of the damage (neither of which he has shared) and would be happy to share the costs he has incurred to the court. He's making out it's my fault basically. I don't know now whether it's worth me making a claim and potentially losing £300 as that's how much it costs to make it, if I might not win the case.
Just wondered if anyone with experience or legal knowledge might be able to advise me?

Have you spoken to shelter ? Afaik if he didn’t put it in the deposit scheme he’s lost before he starts

Go to shelter website it explains that you are entitled to your deposit back and compensation should you go to court. It provides template letter for you too.

You are in a good position you can get 3x the amount because he didn’t protect it. Tell him that

Yes its very easy to do.

My husband did this with a shit head landlord.

There was a post on here recently about a landlord not protecting their tenants deposit and their tenant used a no-win no-fee solicitor to pursue it, may be worth checking that out.

I suspect your landlord doesn't know what penalty he will face, otherwise he'd be falling over himself to give you the money back!

He’s trying to scare you off - don’t fall for it. Small claims court!

If a landlord hasn’t protected the deposit, then it should be an open and shut case for the court that you are entitled to a penalty of 1-3 times the value of the deposit (Housing Act 2094 s214(4)) and the deposit itself can no longer be deducted from as it was not protected and must be repaid in full (Housing Act 2094 s214(3)). Should this go to court, the Landlord could counterclaim for any damage they feel they should be compensated for, in this case the mould that they believe was your responsibility - if the court agreed with him then they would net any compensation due to the landlord for that damage against the penalty / deposit return due to you. So, if the deposit was £1000 and the court ordered a 2x penalty you would be owned £3000. If the landlord successfully argued that there was damage he should be compensated for and it cost him £750 to rectify, you would end up with a judgment for you to be paid £2250, plus court fees which should be added.

On the face of it, if you reported issues that caused the mould and they weren’t rectified and you have evidence of that correspondence then they would find it hard to counterclaim for damage. But that’s what you would need a solicitor to advise on and you’d want to work out the overall risk - if they were successful what are the costs they’re saying they’re incurred to deal with the mould and how does that stack up against the lowest you would likely receive (return of deposit and 1x penalty).

First step I’d suggest would be a letter before action setting out the statutory position above in clear terms and stating you will take legal action and seek the maximum penalty if your deposit is not returned in full within eg 72 hours. ChatGPT will probably do a decent job of writing that for you, ensuring it cites and quotes the legislation. If you have no joy then worth an initial consultation with a solicitor or you can do it yourself (the likely counterclaim makes it a little more complex but not something you couldn’t manage if you wanted to take it on yourself. Probably depends on overall value).

Info below on claiming if that’s where you get to.

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housingadvice/tenancydeposits/howtomakeatenancydepositcompensationclaim

Agree with other posters. As the landlord has not protected your deposit, he can talk all he likes about damage to the property, but the court won't be interested. He won't be able to deduct a single penny from your deposit for the alleged damage and will have to repay you up to three times your deposit. If he has not put your deposit into a deposit protection scheme you will win. It is an open and shut case. There is no defence he can put up. Go for it.

Thank you so much for your reply. I just have one question, if my landlord did counterclaim, could I potentially end up out of pocket, say if the court ordered me to pay more costs to him than they ordered him to pay back to me? The problem is I don't have any evidence as such that I told him about the mould as it was over phone calls.

Thanks everyone for your help 🙂

You will only end up out of pocket if the landlord can claim damages that come to more than your deposit. Of course, he could try that regardless of whether you take him to court. Note that you will not have to pay your landlord's legal costs whatever happens.

I agree with @prh47bridgeas always, although my understanding is it would need to be more than twice the deposit (with the lowest award you should get being the return of the deposit plus 1x the value of the deposit as penalty).

It's a small point, but are you sure you can't clear the mould off one last time before leaving? It's beastly stuff but not usually hard to remove with diluted bleach or vinegar. Then the LL could not call it 'damage'.

Indeed. My bad.