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The Deposit Protection Scheme was brought in by the Government to protect residential tenants from unscrupulous landlords who were wrongly withholding the deposit at the end of a tenancy.
Landlords not following the rules of the scheme are at risk of the tenant being able to claim a penalty of three times the amount of the deposit taken.
Many landlords are advised by letting agents to ensure the rules are followed. Other landlords may not be aware of the rules of the deposit scheme and could fall foul of the regulations. 
The scheme requires that the tenant's deposit is held by an authorised deposit scheme. The landlord has fourteen days to comply with the initial requirements of the scheme and provide information to the tenant. If the fourteen day deadline is not complied with, the triple penalty may be applied against the landlord. The information required includes the identity and address of the scheme administrator, other guidance and information explaining the scheme and procedures for repaying the deposit at the end of the tenancy. It also includes details such as dispute resolution.
The county court will usually award the triple penalty against the landlord unless there is good reason for the penalty not to apply. In one recent case, involving a breach of the rules, the court did not award the triple penalty as the landlord had already repaid the deposit to the tenant.
Landlords should make sure they are aware of the deposit scheme rules and if there is any doubt take proper advice from their lawyer. Where a claim is already being made by the tenant a quick refunding of the deposit may be a way of avoiding the triple penalty.If you need advice in this area why not get in touch with us using the contact area on our website.
Five weeks after completing their 13.1 mile Bath Half Marathon challenge, a team of runners from Pardoes solicitors have visited The Forever Friends Appeal at Bath’s Royal United Hospital to present their funds raised – a wonderful £2,500.00. The team of six chose to support the Appeal’s NICU ‘space to grow’ Campaign, following the premature birth of Pardoes Partner Sean McDonough’s twins, who were cared for in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the RUH.
Sean McDonough and his wife Rachel, who live in Bath, were delighted to find out they were expecting twins in 2005. Following a relatively smooth pregnancy, Rachel went into early labour in June and twins Joseph and Olivia were born weighing just 5lb4oz and 3lb15oz respectively. The twins, who were born at the RUH, were taken straight to NICU to help them make it through the first few days of their fragile lives. Joseph was in NICU for just one night, but due to Olivia’s tiny size she spent her first two weeks in the unit. Now lively and energetic three year olds, Joseph and Olivia were cheering from the side lines on Bath Half Marathon day to support their Dad and all his running colleagues.
Members of staff from Pardoes and friends - Andy Bevins, Sarah Driscoll, Ewan MacLarty, Sam Apsey and Sabrina Bailey ran alongside Sean on Bath Half Marathon day to help raise as much as possible to support the NICU ‘space to grow’ Campaign - building a new premature baby unit for Bath’s RUH. Sean McDonough from Pardoes comments: “The care that Joseph and Olivia received from the NICU team at the RUH was first class. In spite of their challenging working environment, the NICU team did an amazing job of looking after our twins whilst also giving us a huge amount of personal support and attention. The opportunity to help in a small way to improve the environment for the babies and staff of the unit seemed like a good way of saying thank you and we are very grateful to the other members of the Pardoes team for getting involved.”
The current RUH NICU consists of cramped corridors and little rooms, with four incubators in rooms meant for one and no privacy for new nursing mothers and distressed families. The inspirational new low carbon building with well designed space will allow staff to practice new methods of care, giving these tiny babies an even better chance at life. With just £650,000 left to raise to bring the NICU ‘space to grow’ Campaign to a successful conclusion, the Appeal are encouraging as much public support as possible over the forthcoming summer months.
Events & Community Officer for The Forever Friends Appeal Jo Hones comments: “Team Pardoes all trained really hard to make sure that they would successfully get around the half marathon course. Their team spirit on the day was truly superb! We would like to thank them for their tremendous support for the NICU ‘space to grow’ Campaign and for raising such a brilliant amount to go towards the new building.”
In late 2008, Lord Clarke, the then Master of the Rolls, instructed Lord Justice Jackson to compile a report focusing on the ever increasing costs of civil litigation. The aim of Lord Jackson’s report was to create better access to justice by removing the barrier created by the costs of civil litigation.
Lord Jackson’s final report was published in January 2010. There is currently no obligation on the Government to implement the recommendations and it is unlikely that with the general election looming just around the corner that any of the political parties will be focusing their attention on the report in the near future. What is for certain however is that should the recommendations be implemented in the future they will undoubtedly change the face of litigation as we know it. The question many solicitors are asking themselves right now is will Lord Jacksons’s recommendations really provide greater access to justice or instead will they serve only to benefit Defendants and their insurers?
We have put together a bullet pointed sumary of these recommedations so please contact Pardoes and we will email them straight over to you.
As part of our continual commitment to bringing our clients up to date with industry news, legal tips and views, Pardoes Solicitors now have this dedicated Web Log - Blog.Please feel free to browse the articles and leave comments. Alternatively, please email Parodes direct at carla.tier@pardoes.co.uk
