Tenancy types
Joint tenancies and HMOs
Where several people share one tenancy, the deposit is usually treated as a single deposit — and the compensation is shared too.
One tenancy, one penalty
For a joint tenancy, the court awards one penalty of 1x–3x the total deposit, not one per tenant. The claim generally belongs to the tenants jointly.
Do all tenants need to claim?
Section 214(1) allows any tenant or relevant person to apply, but the court will usually expect the other joint tenants to be joined as parties. In practice, agree with your co-tenants before starting.
Room-by-room HMOs
If each person has their own separate tenancy of a room, each deposit stands alone and each tenant has their own claim.
How much could you claim?
Use the free calculator to estimate your compensation and generate a letter before action.
Open the calculator