Eviction Notice (Section 21) Advice for a Landlord

[BillER]

Dear all,

I was about to serve a Section 21 Notice to my tenants however I have just realized that I have not registered the tenants' deposit with the tenancy deposit scheme. It was carelessness on my part. I understand this is an issue if serving a Section 21. I genuinely forgot and would be happy to make the deposit into the scheme however this should have been done much earlier (within 30 days of the deposit being received).

I'm not sure what to do and would appreciate any advice. I know this is a broad area so can give further details to clarify any points.

Thank you for any guidance on this.

It's my understanding that the tenants can claim up to 3x the deposit amount back in terms of compensation plus their original deposit (so you would be liable for 4x deposit) because you have failed to do this requirement.

I would put it into a deposit scheme asap and hope they don't look at the date deposited to closely when looking at the Section 21.

I’m a Landlord.
Get in touch with an eviction specialist. (Not a solicitor.)
You need specialist hard core advice. It’s a minefield. For example look up “AST Assistance” on the internet. They are experts.

If you have overlooked registering the deposit, AST will examine what else you might have overlooked and give advice.

There are helpful Facebook groups too. UK Landlord Support Group is a good place to start.

Yes I'll do that - thanks

Thanks very much. I'll look into an eviction specialist hoping it won't be too costly.

It was carelessness on my part.

Not following legal obligations is a tad more than "careless".

Are you selling the property?

You should seek specialist legal help. Don't try and con your tenants as previously suggested. Deal with it properly.

And this is why people hate landlords.

Any renter in their right mind would be looking closely at the deposit date so they don't screwed over by landlords that can't be bothered to do their job properly.

You can give back the deposit just make sure all your paperwork is in order and the tenants sign to receive it. Good luck this government is making things awful for landlords and ultimately tenants

How does a landlord 'forget' to protect a deposit? What a load of crap. Your best bet might be to come clean and give it back to them in its entirety and suck up any repair costs as a consequence.

This has been law for a really long time, nothing to do with this government, and rightly so! Why is it 'awful' for landlords not to be able to steal tenants' deposits the way they used to??

Don't do that. Return the deposit in full to the tenant then serve a s21. The s21 will be invalid otherwise and a court WILL pick this up, as will anyone to whom the tenant goes to for advice.

Not careless, illegal
People like you are why Landlords get such a hard time on MN.
You need proper legal advice and it will cost you, as will not properly protecting the deposit if your Tenants realise what you have done

You don't think the tenants might smell a rat when their paperwork arrives from the deposit protection scheme days before they received a section 21 notice??

I disagree that this is the landlord screwing the tenant over...they are now willing to put the deposit in the scheme and do not seem to be trying to do the tenant out of any money?

Yes, they have not followed the process that they should have but this tenant is not going to be impacted by the lateness of the landlord putting the money in the scheme...they are surely not going to be impacted in any way? If they were not planning on putting the deposit in the scheme and planning on arguing with them over the deposit then I would agree with you but that is not the case here.

I'm not sure why you are saying the landlord is screwing the tenant over?

I think you'd be better off returning the deposit right now, in full, then ask them to pay the deposit again ( they may well say no ) and if they pay, immediately protect it.

Anyway, don't ask me or randoms on mumsnet, ask the professionals.

Mentally prepare for having to return 3 x their deposit for not protecting it in the first place. What you've done is illegal. It wasn't your money, you failed to look after it for them.

Because they have acted illegally and are now panicking
No Landlord "forgets" to protect The Deposit like this. It also begs the question what else has this Landlord done/not done.
Its a regulated industry and Tenants have certain protections, one of which is that the landlord cannot keep the deposit, it goes to a 3rd party company.

They have kept the tenants' money in their account, presumably earning interest on it, instead of meeting their legal obligation to protect it. It doesn't matter what their intentions are now, they have acted illegally. No tenant knows what a landlord's intentions are, that's why the law is in place to protect their money.

No, don't do this, see my previous response.

A landlord in business should be following the law and meet their statutory obligations- I agree a landlord not doing so should not be in business. It isn't illegal unfortunately and the penalties are civil not criminal, just to correct previous posters.

@dairydebris it is unlikely a court would award x3 as a penalty- it's on the lower end of the scale and is more likely to be x1 particularly if the deposit is returned.

Because it is legally supposed to be put it into the deposit scheme in a certain amount of time. I bet if the tenants failed to do something they are legally obliged to do, like pay their rent on time, the landlord would have been on their back, and if they can't get even the basics of being a landlord right, what else have they not done?

By hoping thr tenants don't notice that it wasn't done in time, they are potentially screwing over the tenants, who would be entitled up to 3x that amount, so they would be losing money thay they'd be entitled to.

@Whaleandsnail6 ”I disagree that this is the landlord screwing the tenant over...they are now willing to put the deposit in the scheme and do not seem to be trying to do the tenant out of any money?”

Now willing to do it because they need to serve a S.21.
What’s the betting they wouldn’t have bothered with the deposit scheme had they wanted the tenancy to continue.