Deposit Protection Service > Disputes
At the end of a tenancy, usually landlords and tenants agree on how a deposit should be repaid. Sometimes landlords and tenants can’t reach a settlement. In these cases, our dispute resolution service is there to help. It can take up to seven weeks to reach an outcome in a dispute so it’s better for tenants and landlords to reach a settlement between themselves.
Which type of deposit protection do I have?
The dispute resolution process
The dispute resolution process differs depending on if the deposit is protected in a Custodial or Insured deposit protection scheme.
For our Custodial scheme where we hold the deposit:
- We request evidence
- The landlord and tenant submit their evidence
- An adjudicator reviews the evidence and issues their decision
- We repay the deposit as instructed by the adjudicator
For our Insured scheme where the landlord/letting agent holds the deposit:
- The landlord sends the disputed deposit amount to us
- We request evidence
- The landlord and tenant submit their evidence
- An adjudicator reviews the evidence and issues their decision
- We repay the deposit as instructed by the adjudicator
Speeding up the dispute process
Senior Adjudicator, Vicky, shares tips to speed up the dispute process or even avoid disputes altogether.
Of course, this is just a simple overview of what happens in a dispute. For a successful outcome, understanding each stage of the process, including timings and best practice is essential. Click the relevant box for in-depth insights into how the dispute process works and how to successfully navigate it.