united-kingdom claims
London - Final step of getting my deposit back
<p>I have been living in a shared house in London at some point.
When I left (more than a year ago), the landlord (an agency) told me he would pay me back my deposit shortly.
As they still have not done it, I googled online and found out that they actually never protected the deposit.
So I followed the guidlines at</p>

<p><a href="https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/how_to_get_your_tenancy_deposit_back" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/how_to_get_your_tenancy_deposit_back</a></p>

<p>and sent them a letter before action 2 months ago to which they never answered.
So now I'd like to take it to court, so I found:</p>

<p><a href="https://courttribunalfinder.service.gov.uk/search/aol" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://courttribunalfinder.service.gov.uk/search/aol</a></p>

<p>From there, I picked the "<strong>Housing possession</strong>" category. The problem is that I emailed more than 5 of them and none of them answered me but one which told me to make a money claim (which was clearly inappropriate according to money claim website).</p>

<p>The problem is that I'm currently abroad (until end of March or even June) and cannot go there in person.</p>

<p>Would you have in mind a local court (anywhere in London) which deals with deposit claims? Also, would you know if it is possible to start the process (ie make the claim, pay the fees online)?</p>

<p>Thank you for you advice.
Franck</p>

<p>It sounds like you need to take the <a href="https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/tenancy_deposits/court_action_for_a_tenancy_deposit_refund" rel="nofollow noreferrer">landlord to court</a>. Make sure you are suing the right person; look at your rental contract to see who you the other party was and name them on the court documents. A common mistake is to sue an agent when you should be suing the landlord, or vice versa.</p>

<p>The reply you got back from the court is correct: you need to make a money claim because you are claiming back money you are owed. Housing possession is for landlords evicting tenants. Any local court will be able to handle this case; you should pick the nearest one to the property you rented or to your landlord's agent.</p>

<p>Since you are abroad you might want to use the <a href="https://europa.eu/youreurope/business/dealing-with-customers/solving-disputes/european-small-claims-procedure/index_en.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">European process</a> as this will try to avoid dragging you in for an actual hearing when it isn't necessary.</p>

<p>Alternatively you could wait until you are going to be back in the UK. You can start proceedings up to 6 years after the issue arose, so waiting a few months won't make any difference from a legal point of view, although a dodgy landlord might take advantage of the delay to make himself harder to find.</p>
