The Localism Act 2011 and Tenancy Deposit Protection

The defences raised in these cases have now been superseded by the Localism Act

2011, which makes important changes to tenancy deposit protection under the Housing Act 2004. The Localism Act has now received Royal Assent, which means that its changes are likely to come into effect in April 2012.

The revised legislation will allow for penalties worth between one and three times the value of an unprotected deposit to be awarded to a tenant at the court’s discretion. This is instead of a mandatory penalty of three times the deposit. In addition, it has now been made clear that the landlord or letting agent will have 30 days to protect a tenant’s deposit compared to the current 14 days.

The revised legislation also does away with mandatory penalties of three times the deposit if the deposit is not correctly registered and the ‘prescribed information’ not properly given.Instead, courts will be allowed to use their discretion to hand out penalties worth between one and three times the value of an unprotected deposit.