Going to court to get a tenancy deposit back

This content applies to England only.

Housing laws vary between England and Scotland. Get advice relating to Scotland

If you paid a tenancy deposit to a landlord before 6 April 2007, and your landlord refuses to return your deposit and negotiation doesn't work, the next step is to go to court. This is quite straightforward.

If your tenancy deposit was paid on or after 6 April 2007, or your assured shorthold tenancy agreement was renewed on or after 6 April 2012, you have new tenancy deposit protection rights and the information on this page does not apply to you.

Court action can help get your tenancy deposit back

If you think your landlord is not entitled to keep your deposit but you can't convince your landlord to give it back, a court can settle the disagreement. The court will look at all the evidence and decide whether or not your landlord should return all or part of your tenancy deposit.

County courts deal with tenancy deposit disputes

The county court deals with disputes about tenancy deposits. The court procedure is intended to be simple enough for ordinary people to use without needing a solicitor. However, if you need to claim more than £5,000 (the limit for small claims), or you want help with the process, get advice.

Court fees to start tenancy deposit claims

You have to pay a fee to the court to start your claim. You will be able to claim this back from your landlord if you win, but if you don't win you will lose your court fee.

The amount of money you have to pay is usually a fixed amount plus a percentage of the amount you are claiming from your landlord. For example, the court may charge you £80 to start the claim, then ten per cent of the total amount you want to claim from your landlord.

Claiming for interest and court fees

As well as trying to recover all or part of your tenancy deposit, you can ask the court to order your landlord to pay you:

interest on the amount owed
the court fees you had to pay to start your claim.

Interest can be claimed from the date your deposit should have been returned until the date you start your claim, and then at a daily rate. Interest is calculated at eight per cent. If you want to claim interest, you have to say so on your claim form.

Send a letter before action

Before you start your claim, you should send a formal 'letter before action'. This should:

say 'letter before action' at the top
include dates on any other letters you have already sent to your landlord about the deposit. Keep copies of everything.
give your landlord a deadline to respond by if they want to avoid court action. The deadline could be 14 days, for example.

You may be able to adapt our sample 'Letter before action'. Letter

You should also enclose a completed copy of the relevant court form (form N1), which you can get from your nearest county court or download from the Court Service website.

When you fill in the claim form, you have to say how much you are claiming and explain your reasons. Give clear details of any costs that have been deducted from your deposit and reasons why you disagree with this.

Many landlords will agree to pay you what they owe as soon as they receive a letter before action, so you may not have to go to court at all.

If your landlord doesn't respond by the deadline or still refuses to pay, take the form to your local county court. Court staff can help make sure you have filled it in correctly and explain the procedure. At this point you will have to pay court fees.

Provide the court with important documents

When you pay the court fee, the court normally gives you instructions (which they may call 'directions') about the documents you will need to provide to the court and the time limits for doing so. These might include:

a copy of your tenancy agreement
any letters relating to your deposit
records of your rent payments
the inventory
receipts of any items you have repaired or replaced
letters to and from your landlord
statements from witnesses
photographs.

You will also have to sign a statement explaining the evidence you want the judge to consider. Any witnesses (such as a friend who can confirm the state of the property when you moved in) will also have to sign a written statement. You usually have to provide all the evidence at least 14 days before the hearing.

Court contact with your landlord

The court office will send a copy of your claim to your landlord, and will ask you landlord fill in and return forms for the court. At this point your landlord could:

do nothing
agree with your claim and pay you
disagree with your claim and agree to go to court.

If your landlord does nothing, the court can automatically order your landlord to pay the money you have claimed, along with interest and your court fee. If your landlord doesn't pay, the court can advise you about what you can do next.

If your landlord replies and continues to disagree with your claim, the court will arrange a court hearing.

If the court is unable to send or deliver the papers to your landlord, you may have to give them to your landlord yourself. Get advice from a housing adviser or solicitor if you are in this situation. Use our directory to find an adviser.

At a court hearing

If your landlord disputes any of your claim there will be a hearing in the county court. The court will write to you to tell you the date of the court hearing.

The court hearing should be fairly informal and you should be able to represent yourself. The judge will ask questions based on the evidence you have already provided.

Your landlord may be represented by someone else, such as a solicitor.

Court decisions about disputed tenancy deposits

If you win a court hearing about a disputed tenancy deposit, the court will order your landlord to pay your claim. If your landlord doesn't pay you, the court will advise you on what you may be able to do next.

If you lose the case there may be nothing more you can do to get your deposit back. Your court fees will not be refunded, but you won't have to pay your landlord's legal costs.

If you think the judge hasn't considered the evidence properly you may be able to appeal. You will need to get legal advice if you want to do this. Use our directory to find a housing adviser to help, or use the Community Legal Service Legal adviser finder to find a legal adviser or solicitor.