Adjudication case study: Unable to contact landlord

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In the event of a dispute over the deposit at the end of a tenancy, our alternative dispute resolution service provides an impartial adjudication facility to landlords, agents and tenants.
Head of Dispute Resolution, Suzy Hershman reviews an adjudication decision of a dispute over being unable to contact the landlord.

Case summary – Landlord vs tenant

Background: The case involved a landlord not being contactable at the end of a tenancy, when the tenant sought to have their deposit money returned. The landlord used mydeposits to protect the deposit, so held the money in their own bank account
and was therefore required to discuss the return of the deposit with the tenant.

Disputed deposit value: £1,800.00

Dispute details: The tenant paid the landlord a deposit of £1,800 upon moving into the property. The deposit was held by the landlord for the duration of the tenancy, and protected with mydeposits. At the end of the tenancy, the tenant contacted the landlord to have the deposit returned. The tenant claimed that the landlord could not be contacted, and that the full amount of the deposit had been withheld without explanation. The tenant subsequently raised a dispute with mydeposits. The scheme
also attempted to contact the landlord and ordered them to lodge the disputed deposit amount within 10 working days. The landlord also failed to respond.

Outcome: Following the adjudication process; £1,800.00 was awarded to the tenant.

Key topics: Under the mydeposits Scheme Rules, the landlord is able to hold the deposit money in their own bank account. If the landlord cannot be contacted at the end of the tenancy, the tenant can raise a dispute. It is up to the landlord to lodge the disputed amount with the scheme within 10 days of the tenant registered a dispute. If the landlord fails to respond, it will be treated as though they have given permission for the dispute to be heard by the Alternative Dispute Resolution service offered
by mydeposits.

Evidence

The tenant provided the Deposit Protection Certificate to prove the deposit was protected with mydeposits. They were also able to provide evidence of their attempts to contact the landlord.

Adjudicator’s findings

The adjudicator was satisfied that the landlord had failed to respond to any of the tenant’s requests to have the deposit returned or specified why the amount had been withheld. The adjudicator was also satisfied that the tenant had made no admissions to being liable for any costs in his submission and that none of the evidence provided indicated any liability on the part of the tenant. When the dispute was lodged, the landlord failed to respond by way of a Dispute Rebuttal Form. The landlord also failed to lodge the disputed amount of £1,800 with the scheme within the time limits set out in the Scheme Rules. The scheme rules state that the burden is on the landlord to justify
retaining any part of the deposit. The adjudicator ordered the tenant be paid the sum of £1,800 by the mydeposits scheme.

What we’ve learnt from this case

• The landlord had breached the mydeposits Scheme Rules by failing to return the deposit to the tenant without adequate explanation. Tenancy deposit protection was introduced to ensure tenants fairly receive their deposit back at the end of the tenancy. As the landlord could not be contacted and failed to return the deposit money, or lodge the disputed amount with the scheme during the dispute process, my|deposits paid out to the Tenant the £1,800. Under the Scheme Rules, landlords who do this will have their membership revoked by the scheme and will also be pursued through the courts for the deposit amount owning.

Note: All ADR services recognise that dispute cases vary, therefore the outcome will depend on the interpretation of the evidence presented.