What are my rights if there is a mistake on my deposit protection certificate?

If your deposit has a mistake on it, it is the same as if it was not protected. Therefore, you are entitled to your full deposit back as well as up to 3 times your deposit as compensation. This is because the landlord has broken the law and prejudiced your rights as a tenant.

What counts as enough of a mistake to make the deposit unprotected?

Incorrect data on a certificate can be broken down into 2 types:

• Typos that don’t matter
• Mistakes that make a deposit unprotected

Typos that don’t matter

1. If the date the deposit was paid is off by a day or two, but it was still clearly protected within 30 days of your payment of the deposit
2. If your name has a tiny typo on it, and your landlord or agent has made sure you can find your Deposit Protection Certificate – For example, “John Jones” being spelled “Jon Jones"

Note: There is an exception to the above two rules if the deposit was not protected within 30 days or the incorrect name meant that you were unable to find your Deposit online.

Mistakes that make a deposit unprotected

1. Wrong start of tenancy date
2. Missing out a tenant on the certificate
3. Larger typo on your last name
4. Wrong Deposit amount
5. Wrong Address
6. Wrong Postcode
7. Wrong deposit paid date by more than a few days
8. Wrong landlord name
9. Expired before the tenancy ended

If any of the above applies to you, please contact one of our team on 020 3476 6648 or use the contact form and a trained advisor can look at your specific situation. We can then advise you about your options, whether you are entitled to compensation, how much you can expect to receive, as well as answer any questions you might have.

Related Pages

• My landlord or letting agent has not protected my deposit or bond