What can a landlord do about late deposit protection claims?

Your offer seems perfectly reasonable. Speak with an industry expert.

The RRB might provide an opportunity to use Section 8 grounds for selling or moving family members into the property.

Ours was a bit more complicated due to the previous landlord (a corporation), but the deposit was the issue. We used an eviction specialist who said we couldn’t serve a S21 unless the deposit was returned as it would never be valid. Tenant wouldn’t accept it via the my deposits, refused to give bank details etc. So we got the letting agent to take the cash in an envelope (big denomination notes so not obviously money). The tenant opened it in front of the letting agent and acknowledged it. Admitted she had been trying to avoid it. Letting agent signed a statement for the court and therefore deposit was no longer part of the valid S21. We were awarded possession and (eventually) got our money back from my deposits after the tenant left the property.

x9 is taking the proverbial. Usual maximum courts seem to be awarding is up to x3 plus the return of the deposit.

The Housing Act 2004 (“HA 2004”) imposes sanctions for non-compliance with the initial requirements to protect a deposit such that the court must order the landlord to pay a penalty award to the tenant (HA 2004, s214 (4)). The level of award is at the court’s discretion, from a minimum of the amount of the deposit figure to the maximum of three times the deposit figure.

Akrigg v Pigeon (unreported), 25 September 2015 (County Court at Chippenham and Trowbridge. 2 penalties were awarded of three times the deposit, one in relation to the original tenancy and one in relation to the statutory periodic tenancy that followed.

Howard v Dalton (unreported), 7 May 2019 (County Court at Dartford), HHJ Simpkiss upheld a decision to award multiple penalties where the parties had entered into a total of eight consecutive tenancies. The original tenancy was granted in 2007 and the deposit was never protected. So in theory x3 plus original deposit for every year!

Howard Davies v Scott (unreported), 18 January 2018 (Clerkenwell & Shoreditch),to seek to avoid paying multiple penalties. A penalty of three times the deposit was awarded but the judge declined to award a second penalty for the subsequent periodic tenancy.

2x the deposit is not going to cut it. You need the help of a specialist landlord and tenant solicitor to help negotiate a settlement. Dont be tempted to go to court. Conditional fee lawyers get a bonus if they win that will make even 9x deposit look small.

Can someone remind me why returning the full value of a deposit, irrespective of damage to the property caused by the tenant, should be penalised because the money had not been lodged with a 3rd party? If the tenant gets ALL their deposit money back, why is this a problem? What am I missing (other than someone made it a law with penalties)?

Seems unreasonable to me. 9x is 3x more than the max amount awarded by the court IIRC. I would send the deposit back to the solicitor as a starter for 10 and see if they accept it as a “start of negotiation”. If they do it may act as returning the deposit for the purposes of serving later documents. Coupled with that would be a nasty letter to the SRA about demanding money with menaces (legal threats) that are outside of the court guidance. This isn’t litigation it’s fiscal bullying and it’s why I hate these no win characters

Reply to the comment left by Peter G at 23/04/2025 – 11:46
What am I missing (other than someone made it a law with penalties)?

Nothing. The clue is in the name. It’s a penalty i.e. something that penalises anyone who does not comply with the legislation. Designed to encourage compliance.

Reply to the comment left by Paddy O’Dawes at 23/04/2025 – 12:41
Perhaps highlight to the solicitor that they are in breach of the Solicitors Regulation Authority Code of Conduct for submitting a demand far larger than could be requested in court, whether as a result of dishonesty or negligence. Then re-offer the return of the deposit plus x2 as a gesture to resolve matters swiftly and without needing to resort to court or the SRA Complaint Procedure.
If they continue with the x9 demand then do report them.

https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/fraud-dishonesty/legal-threats-solicitor/

I once reported a solicitor in Scotland who acted for my house purchase and then charged lots of extra fees. Once my complaint was logged with Scottish Legal Complaints Commission then I got everything back swiftly. The process was very easy and straightforward.

Reply to the comment left by Paddy O’Dawes at 23/04/2025 – 12:41
You wish…

9 x is gonna look like a bargain by the time this is over…

Read the OP. Multiple tenancies….multiple offences. Multiple fines x 3…

Oh. Dear

Reply to the comment left by Peter G at 23/04/2025 – 11:46
Deductions from the deposit can be made in yhe usual way even if its not been protected.