Represent law gets client £8,800 for deposit protection claim at court in birmingham

Represent Law are delighted to have obtained a court order for £8,800 for a client in Birmingham. 

The landlord and his agent had argued that the tenant did not pay a deposit and that the money held by the agent was an advance rent and not subject to the deposit protection legislation. Represent Law argued against this noting that the letting agent's own description of the "advance rent" exactly matched the definition of a deposit in the Housing Act 2004 and as such the deposit required protection. 

The judge agreed with this analysis and ordered that the landlord pay the tenant 3x the deposit for each of 5 tenancies in addition to ordering that the landlord return the deposit plus costs.

This is a great result and once again shows that landlords and agents who try to evade their deposit protection responsibilities are liable for significant financial penalties.