Housing Legal Consultation

Tenants may also take legal action against a landlord whom they believe has not protected their deposit. If you have an Assured Shorthold Tenancy and have rented any type of property from a private landlord, you may be qualified to file a no-fee claim for damages against them as well as a claim for up to three times the initial deposit if that deposit is not properly returned when the tenancy ends. At the beginning of your tenancy, when you lawfully provide your landlord a deposit, they are required to put that deposit into one of three authorized deposit protection schemes within 30 days of receiving it. They are not, under any circumstances, simply allowed to put it in their bank account, as might be the case for standard rent payments.

The tenancy deposit programs that have received government approval are maintained to try to ensure that you will receive your money back when you;If a landlord has not upheld their legal commitments to you, the tenant, things between you usually quickly become tense. And while they may (and should) be aware that you are entitled to a return of your deposit should you vacate the property, it is not unusual for a landlord to presume a tenant is ignorant of their legal rights and attempt to keep it. You might wish to file a claim in this situation to ensure that you receive the money you are due, and, in some circumstances, an additional amount equal to up to three times the original deposit amount. The fact is that most landlords have Legal Advisor working hard for them, and you, as a tenant, should have the same. Our housing Legal Advisor will do that.

With the help of our housing Legal Advisor, many tenants have received the favourable outcomes they were hoping for in their disputes with their landlord. As our team are alternative dispute resolution specialists as well as experienced housing lawyers, this can often be achieved without the need to enter into an expensive, time-consuming and stressful court case. There are some things, however, that you will need to do to help ensure that any legal action brought against your landlord is successful:The first step in solving any problem in a rented home is to inform your landlord of the situation. Ideally, they would take your complaint seriously and fix the problem, and you won't need housing Legal Advisor at all. The types of repairs that the landlord is responsible for, and the amount of time they are allowed in order to make them, should be specified in your tenancy agreement or contract, so check it first. Then follow these steps as they apply to your situation.

1. Gather proof of the damage, the needed repairs or other issue to make sure your landlord is aware of the problem(s), and send photos as needed.

1. Contact your landlord or letting agent and let them know exactly what's wrong. It is best practice to put this in writing so that you have a record of it, however it can be done verbally as well. However, relying on verbal communication can be murky from a legal standpoint, so the more written communication, the better.

1. Keep proof of any correspondence - this includes text messages, emails and even letters to your landlord. If you can only communicate verbally, keep your own notes as to the time, duration and content of those discussions.

After following these steps, contact a housing lawyer like the specialist housing Legal Advisor on the Pearl Lemon Legal team. They will be able to help determine if you have a legal case, and if so, what the best way to proceed will be, including whether they can represent you on a no win, no fee basis.

1. Make sure you save the doctor's notes if the property's issues have made you sick or injured you. If the illness or injury led to you incurring extra expenses, keep all receipts of those too.

1. Make sure to save the receipts for everything you paid for in case you feel compelled to perform the repairs yourself because waiting for a landlord to act would in some way make the problem worse.