Ciaran* is a landlord who needed guidance with his property. His tenant had just moved out of the property, and Ciaran noticed that there had been significant damage to the property that he hadn’t been informed about. He wasn’t sure if there was any legal recourse for the damages caused to his property. Ciaran had a deposit in a protection scheme.
Our advice
We provided Ciaran with advice to help him understand the legal options available in this situation.
We advised Ciaran that:
- There are two deposit protection schemes in Northern Ireland, My Deposits NI and TDS NI. It has been a legal requirement to protect a tenant’s deposit since 1st April 2013
- The landlord may raise a dispute with the deposit protection scheme
- The scheme will then ask the landlord to provide evidence of their financial loss, i.e. the damage caused
- The scheme will then decide how much of the deposit to award the landlord based on the evidence
- If the landlord has the tenant’s current address, or there was a guarantor for the tenancy, they may also consider the Small Claims Court, particularly if the damage exceeds the deposit amount
- The Small Claims process is designed to be used without the need for a solicitor and can be used for amounts up to £5,000
*Name has been changed to protect privacy