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What To Do About An Unprotected Tenancy Deposit

What To Do About An Unprotected Tenancy Deposit
  • PublishedSeptember 9, 2022

We live in a busy world where everything is very fast-paced, and thus there is very little time to think before we take some steps. But it is always wise to take some time and balance your smartness and timing equally before making any decision, even if you go for renting a house. 

We not only live in a busy world, but in a world where the population is growing higher, and also we need to mitigate our needs by completing our education in proper universities and doing jobs where we can get a bigger salary paystub

So, renting a home is common these days, and the agreement process is also common in every place. Without the rent agreement, it will be impossible to consider a house on rent, and also, the whole tenet process depends on rental agreements. 

It will be lawless if your landlord does not consider a tenant agreement at the time of your renting the house. No matter where you are renting, it is applicable all over the world. This article is all about understanding the facts and issues like unprotected tenancy deposits. 

What Is A Tenancy Agreement?

The basic procedures of renting a house are included with a tenancy agreement. You cannot simply ignore the tenancy agreement if you are going to rent a house so far. 

First, the landlord will show you the property, and then you will decide if you are going to rent the house or not. If you choose to rent that particular horse, you will then talk with the landlord and decide the monthly rent. 
 

After that, you will have to fill out the tenancy agreement for the purpose of making the whole process lawful. There are some instances for preparing a tenancy agreement, and you also need to include them in the agreement.

  • Monthly rent
  • Contact details
  • Deposit amount
  • Details of the agents 
  • Total tenure of the agreement.

These are the primary requirements to fill up the agreement, and then you start staying at rent in your landlord’s house.

Points To Consider Before You Claim Compensation

According to the tenancy agreement, you will have to fix some amount and give it to the landlord in advance as a security deposit. As per rules, security deposits are taken by the landlord as token money for the security of the horse and regarding the damages. 

Now it’s your landlord who is responsible for the next procedures. Your landlord is likely to return your money or protect it within the next 30 days, and if he does not consider the same, you can sue your landlord and also can claim compensation.

Suppose my landlord has not protected my deposit for the renting process. I will have a greater chance to protect my claims by suing the landlord and also asking for compensation. 

But, before you start the suing process to file a case in order to get compensation, you need to be aware of a few things first. 

1. You Are Aware Of The Tenancy Agreement

Make sure that you have read and understood the tenancy agreement properly, and then you are going to file a case against your landlord. It will not be very easy if you don’t know what is written, particularly in your tenancy agreement. 

2. No Unpaid Payment Left

Make sure that you are going to court after paying all the money to your landlord. It has been seen that many times people tend to keep the rent unpaid. Well, this can be due to various reasons, and sometimes it can be seen that the tenant is not able to pay the full amount due to salary issues or something else like that. 

In different situations, one or two months of rent or electricity bills could remain unpaid to the property owner. In such cases, when you are going to file a case against the person, you will need to make sure that you have paid all the amount to the proper owner. 

3. No Property Damage

The security deposit that you gave to the proper owner is in case you have done any damage to the house. Now you cannot file a case against the person for not protecting your tenancy deposit if you have already done the damage to the property. 

You will need to be aware that nothing got damaged because of your practices. When you are sure that you have done no damage to the property, you can clearly go to claim your compensation.

Steps To Sue Your Landlord

When your tenancy deposit is unprotected, you can use your property owner for this behavior. In that case, you will have two options. You can go for the third party options or, lastly, go to the court for the ultimate resolution.

However, there is a proper process to sue the landlord. You cannot just pronounce sue, and a magic spell works for you to give you compensation. So, there are various steps as it is related to the law you might have to follow strictly.

The three main steps to go to the court and open a sue file are-

  •  Claim for N208.
  •  Pay the court fees.
  •  Wait for the particular court date. 

This process will take some time, and in between these processes, your deposit money will remain protected. On the other hand., even if your landlord returns your money, you will still have a chance to claim the case and win it. 

You need to take care of the new crucial documents, and your attorney will help you in this process. 

  • Complaint letter.
  • Court orders.
  • Proof of tenancy deposit.
  • Court guidance so that you understand the laws.

These are the main documents and clearing processes that you will need to be serious about. 

To Bid Farewell

You will need to take care of a few important things and make sure that you have paid all the rent. Once you are not on loan, you will have the opportunity to get compensation and win the case. 

Protecting your tenancy deposit within 30 days is the responsibility of your landlord, and thus you will need to take adequate steps according to the law.

Written By
Gesten Van Der Post

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