What if my deposit is not protected?

If you’ve checked here and the schemes can confirm your deposit isn’t protected, you can:

Write to your landlord. Here’s some sample letters to help you out.
Consider making a court claim if you don’t get a response or are not happy with what they’ve said.

You can also take your landlord to court:

If your deposit is not protected within 30 days of it being paid, and/or
Your landlord does not provide you with certain information within 30 days of signing your contract. This includes the deposit scheme being used, a certificate showing protection and how much deposit is being protected.

If you win the case, the court can order your landlord to:

Give you your deposit back or put it in a protection scheme, and
Pay you a fine between 1-3 times the amount of the deposit
Restrict the steps your landlord can take to evict you while the deposit is protected

To try avoid signing with a landlord who commonly has this issue, you can use:

Rate Your Landlord aims to allow students to talk about their personal renting experiences and for others to learn from them, becoming savvy, safe and happy renters. Many students are brand new to the world of private renting, so other people's opinions can be a useful tool. Rate Your Landlord is here to provide an open, fair and balanced forum for tenants to have their say, for landlords to respond, and for students to learn what's what in the world of renting. We want students to share both good and bad experiences. The more reviews posted, the stronger the website becomes. You can learn about how your potential landlord has handled deposits and guarantor through reading reviews on their website

Unipol runs a number of Codes. These are accreditation schemes which:

Set professional standards for student accommodation buildings and their management. Code members voluntarily commit to meeting these standards
Check compliance with those standards
Give students assurance and confidence about the quality of what they are signing up for when they opt for a Code property
Give students a robust complaints process if things go wrong.

All the Codes have been developed in partnership with their local universities and students’ unions

LUU Advice can help with:

Advising you about your rights and the pros and cons of going to court
Negotiating with your landlord if your deposit is not protected
Making a claim in the county court