There have been several important court judgements on the issues of tenancy deposits in recent months. In the Universal Estates case the court was asked to consider if it mattered with an insured scheme if the deposit was protected later than the 14 days in the Housing Act 2004.

They decided that as long as the deposit was protected before the court hearing, the penalty could not be awarded.

This was followed shortly by the judgement in Potts v Densley where the High Court had to consider if a deposit could be protected after the tenancy had ended. They decided, following the Universal Estates case, that as long as it was protected before the court hearing, there was no penalty.

Barely was the ink dry on this decision when the case of Gladehurst v Hashemi hit the Court of Appeal. This case essentially looked at the same issue of the situation that exists after the tenancy had ended.
In this case the Court of Appeal decided that the tenant was not allowed to take court action for recovery of the deposit after the tenancy had ended.

Their decision is a serious blow to tenants and significantly reduces their protection. This may trigger a legislative change to replace the protection in this situation.