Rental deposit return... advice

[Panda Paws]

Anyone know much about the legalities of deposits in a rental?

We moved out of our flat on August 31 and have had no communication from the LL with regard to our holding deposit. I know there's a 10-day deadline for your deposit to be returned when the amount has been agreed, but can't find anything about deadlines/turnaround times for that agreement.

[Nemo]

The deposit should be registered with a third party deposit registration service such as Tenancy Deposit Scheme or similar - do you have any idea whether it is/who it is with?

https://www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection

[Panda Paws]

The deposit should be registered with a third party deposit registration service such as Tenancy Deposit Scheme or similar - do you have any idea whether it is/who it is with?

https://www.gov.uk/tenancy-deposit-protection

I can find out.

When we moved into the flat 4 years ago it was through an agent, and when the old LL sold, the property became unmanaged but the deposit stayed.

[Costanza]

I work in learning and development within this field:

Deposits which are Assured Shorthold Tenancies (the most common kind of tenancy agreement) must be protected with. TDP scheme - there are three companies an landlord or agency can do this with (Deposit Protection Service, Tenancy Deposit Scheme and MyDeposits). If it’s not secured within 30 days of receiving the deposit then the landlord is breaking the law.

Tenants receive correspondence from the TDP scheme once the deposit has been protected. A landlord must also issue their tenants with prescribed information, it’s usually in the tenancy agreement - that states where the landlord intends to secure the deposit.

All offer custodial and insured services. If it’s custodial then the deposit is held with the protection company (therefore requiring tenants and landlords to agree the release of money). Once agreed then money has to be returned within 10 days - so disputed deposits often take much longer to be released.

Insured means that the landlord has the money in their own bank account and therefore, if there are no issues, return of funds should be much quicker.

Feel free to send a DM if you have any specific questions.

[Panda Paws]

Thanks Rich - got all of that. My only question is whether there's a legal time frame from move out to agreement on the amount? It's 10 days from the agreement to paymant, but what if they simply don't reach out to agree and don't respond to any emails?

[Costanza]

It depends on how they secured it.

If it’s custodial with the DPS for example then you’ve got to request a statutory declaration and if they don’t respond during that process (one month approx.) then DPS can release funds without landlords permission.

If it’s insured then you would go through dispute resolution and the TDP scheme would claim from the insurer and pay out.