Tips On Tenancy Deposit Disputes 22: Relevant Evidence

Tip 23: Relevant Evidence

There is a tendency for landlords to get emotionally involved in deposit disputes. This is is perfectly understandable, as the disputes always relate to a major investment, and may be over a property which the landlord once regarded as home. The landlord is often, quite justifiably, outraged at the way their property has been treated by the tenant. Blinded by emotion, they can lose sight of what the dispute is about and fail to address the substance of the dispute in their evidence.

A common example of this is a claim for rent arrears where the landlord’s evidence comprises of photographs of the property in a dreadful mess. Although it may be tempting to assume that an untidy tenant may be less likely to keep up their rent payments, evidence of slovenliness is not relevant to rent arrears and no adjudicator will decide the case in favour of the landlord on that basis.

This may appear to be a particularly obvious mistake but, nevertheless, it is surprisingly common. Whatever the substance of your case, you would do well to take a step back and ask, objectively, whether you have sufficient relevant evidence for each part of your claim. An adjudicator will reduce your claim to specific points and look for evidence relevant to each part. Without it, that part of your claim will fail.

Tom Derrett is the Principal of Deposit Claim, an experienced deposit protection adjudicator and an expert on the Deposit Protection Schemes. Tom helps landlords to claim money through the deposit protection schemes.

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