My tenant moved in September 2015 and I adhered to all compliance requirements and sent them a copy of the deposit Prescribed information, EPC and Gas certificates.
Their AST rental agreement was updated in December 2023 and they were issued with their How to rent guide, the EPC certificate and DPS Ts&Cs. I did not re-issue the Prescribed information.
I have been trying to find my copy of the original Prescribed information and have been unable to locate it. Will this be an issue for me and how can I resolve this in short time?
The 6 year limit on being sued and issued a penalty for non-protection runs from when you received the deposit which, in your case means it expired Oct 2021 so you’re safe there. No point in looking for the PI for that tenancy now.
But…
what does this mean? If it’s a new AST then that means a new deposit and the PI needs to be issued for that and if it wasn’t, you’re still liable. If you simply kept the deposit from the old tenancy and started a new tenancy, then you could be sued for not releasing the deposit for the old tenancy.
Regarding the PI should I simply send the form to update, sign and date. Will that be dated as per the date they signed the new AST or today’s date.
The urgency is that I’d like to issue a section 21. An industry insider mentioned it’s expected the Renters Rights bill will come into force imminently. S21 will become invalid when the bill goes into commencement.
well that’s been coming ever since Labour got into power so you’re a bit late to the party.
So, did you issue a new tenancy in Dec 2023? And did you return the deposit for the first tenancy prior to taking a deposit for the second?
If so, you can issue the PI now so you’ve got all the paperwork in order for the S21 but by doing so, you will flag to your tenant that you missed issuing it by the 30-day deadline. They probably wouldn’t do anything about it if they’ve got a good relationship with you, but if you’re planning on issuing a S21 then that relationship could turn sour. Once that happens, you risk them coming after you via a no-win-no-fee lawyer for prob around 1.5 times the deposit (I say this from experience winning such a case) for failing to issue the PI and who knows what else if you didn’t return the first deposit.
Anyway, you don’t really have a choice. Personally, I’d be speaking to a lawyer, not some guy on the internet.
Assuming you mean that you issued a replacement tenancy, then if its a custodial deposit scheme, you usually dont need to do anything regarding the deposit, so you may be ok. Check with your scheme.
In future, I would suggest that to send all documents electronically emails and to take copy of photos of tenancy contact, deposit protection etc when do inventory check-in if anyone managing property by themselves.
The initial deposit was never returned from DPS. The deposit was increased due to an increase in rent for the 1st time in 7 years. The estate agent did notify me to re-issue the PI and I missed this part of the email.
Earlier in the year I had a friendly conversation with the tenants about about moving out in November 2025. Of course there is potential for the relationship to sour as this is their home. I am fully aware of that.
I am also working with a landlord service with regulated lawyers on this.
As above at AST renewal in December 2023, all other compliance documents were sent electronically and received at same time as signing of the AST. They received the AST, How to rent guide, DPS/ ts and Cs, EPC and Gas Cert. The tenant also has copies of the latest Gas Cert and EICR.
If the deposit was increased and you didn’t re-issue the PI, then you are in breach of the legislation and you would have to serve it now and then re-serve a s21 notice.
The tenant could claim a penalty, but may not.
Im not sure why your Agent increased the deposit just because of a rent increase. In general its best to leave it as it is to avoid such issues.
Are you sure the PI wasn’t included with the DPC? I use MyDeposits and the PI is on the reverse of the DPC. The TA includes the paragraphs that the PI doesn’t cover. So, by sending the TA and the DPC, I cover the PI too, although I also back it up with a separate document.
In the absence of PI and not being able to re-issue (this might required returning deposit and getting it back again). I personally return their deposit and issue S21, if getting possession is important.