Here is a question to the blog clinic from Larry (not his real name) who is a tenant.
Hi, I signed a lease on 1 Oct 2011 and the deposit was never returned to me. Have I missed the deadline to make a claim, please? I have been told I can claim within 6 years but having looked at the legislation I cannot see where this is written.
Answer
The law regarding the time limit for bringing claims is set out in an act called the Statute of Limitations. This act sets out time periods within which you can bring court proceedings for different types of claim.
Your deposit was paid under a contract. The limitation period for contractual claims is six years. The time runs from the date when the claim arose.
So, in your case, the time limit will run, not from the date when the lease was signed, but the date by which the landlord was supposed to return the deposit, i.e. the date when the landlord was first in breach of his obligation to return the money to you.
The exact date will depend on the terms of your contract and probably also the terms of the deposit scheme. However, let us say it was 1 October 2013. You will then have six years from that date to bring a claim, and so will need to file your paperwork at the court not later than 30 September 2019.
If a claim is brought after the limitation period has expired, lawyers describe it as being ‘statute barred’ and the defendant can defend and get the claim thrown out on that basis.
Mind you, this does not mean that the money is not due at all – it just means that you have lost your chance to bring a claim for it through the courts. So if you are able to claim it back in some other way – for example offsetting it against money you owe the landlord, this is (so far as I am aware) still allowable.
There’s no automatic right of offset in UK law, it has to be enabled by contract or imposed by a court.
The reality is that you may as well make the offset anyway.
It would have to be challenged by the landlord, which is unlikely to happen, and which might mean it ends up being ratified by a court anyway.
Thanks. I expect that in the case of a tenant offsetting a deposit, the Judge would probably agree to this.
You talk about the LL obligation to return the money – with the DPS the mechanism is that the tenant applies for the return of the deposit which the LL can then challenge. Is there an obligation on the LL to ensure that the tenant applies for the return of their money?
“This act sets out time periods within which you can bring court proceedings for different types of claim.”
It is important to note that limitation only provides for a long stop date after which the right to take action is barred. Under the general law a claim must be brought within a reasonable time. What is reasonable depends on all the circumstances of the case. A claim brought within the time limit which would otherwise succeed may fail if the claimant delays too long.
if a renter forget to sign their rental agreement and you let them know that and they stated that they are not going to sign