Landlords are obligated to protect deposits taken on assured shorthold tenancies in a government-approved tenancy deposit protection scheme within 30 days of receiving it. The deposit must be protected throughout the tenancy. Landlords or their agents must also provide their tenants with the following documents within 30 days of receiving a deposit:

• A deposit protection certificate; and
• The information prescribed by Housing (Tenancy Deposits) (Prescribed Information) Order 2007.

What is a Tenancy Deposit Claim?

In England and Wales, 4.3 million deposits are protected and the average deposit is just over £1,000; the average deposit for London properties is closer to £2000. It is estimated that landlords do not correctly protect around 50% of deposits. 

If a landlord has failed to adhere to the requirements of the relevant legislation, the tenant may be entitled to compensation of between 1 to 3 times the value of their deposit. This can increase in cases where there are multiple breaches. 

The standard time limit for these types of claims is six years, starting from the date when the claim arose. The exact date would depend on the terms of your tenancy and the terms of the deposit scheme if one was used.

How we can help tenants with a Tenancy Deposit Claim

If one of the following options applies to you, then we can help you obtain compensation:

• Your deposit was not protected;
• Your deposit was not protected within 30 days of your landlord or their agent receiving it;
• You did not receive a deposit protection certificate or did not receive it within 30 days; and
• You did not receive the prescribed information or did not receive it within 30 days.

The steps we would take to assist you are as follows:

• • Ascertain what information you received in the 30 days after paying your deposit;
  • Review any relevant documents. For example, your tenancy agreement, the prescribed information and your deposit protection certificate;
  • Write a letter of claim to your landlord or their agent to set out the basis of your claim and append any evidence;
  • Negotiate a settlement for the sum of 1 to 3 times the value of your deposit; and
• If a settlement cannot be achieved, we will issue a Part 8 claim against your landlord.

How we can help landlords to defend a Tenancy Deposit Claim

If you are a landlord that has received a letter of claim in relation to a tenancy deposit claim, we can help you. The steps we would take are as follows:

• Review the letter of claim received;
• Ascertain whether the claim is valid;
• If the claim is not valid, respond to the letter of claim in your defence; and
• Negotiate a reasonable and proportionate settlement. 

At Stone Rowe Brewer LLP, our reputation is based on continually exceeding our customer’s expectations and delivering results in a straightforward, honest and open manner. 

We provide high-quality legal services for individuals and businesses. Our litigation lawyers are practical and efficient. They will ensure you are fully informed of the options available and will support you through every step of the tenancy deposit claim process.

If you would like further information, you can speak to a member of our staff on 020 8891 6141, or contact Jamie Jones or Paige Symns to discuss your claim. 

In late January, the Department of Health published a proposal to limit fees charged by lawyers who represent patients for medical negligence. The suggested cap of £25,000 will apply to fixed recoverable costs.

Speaking on behalf of the government, Health Minister Maria Caulfield highlighted the disproportionate rise in fees over recent years. According to an independent review that advises the Civil Justice Council, legal bills for clinical negligence claims have risen, but compensation payments have decreased.

Ministers want costs to be more proportionate than currently. They describe the proposed payment system as fair remuneration for administering claims and representing patients.

Interested parties can voice their opinion(s) until 24th April 2022. Sir Rupert Jackson, a retired justice, is head of the review. Years ago, as Lord Justice of Appeal, he examined costs and recommended changes to legal aid for general civil litigation.

Wide payments gap

During the financial year to April 2021, patients’ legal costs in negligence cases were twice as much as compensation paid. Claimants received an average of £11,198. However, the average bill presented by their lawyers was almost double that, some £22,124.

In other areas of personal injury law, fixed recoverable costs are already commonplace. Speaking in Parliament, Mrs Caulfield – once a nursing sister – suggested the scheme would speed up processing and simplify access to legal support in genuine cases. She also admitted that the NHS could save £454 million over ten years.

The plans facilitate the early exchange of evidence: solicitors on both sides will be eligible for efficiency incentives but liable to sanctions if their performance falls short. In particular, the new scheme regime encourages quick agreements on the causes, liability and amount due, or quantum.

Two-track system

Legalities would follow either a standard or a light track depending on the complexity of each case. Two meetings would take place between the parties involved, under the guidance of a neutral barrister. The aim would be to settle outside court wherever possible without costly full hearings.

Claims have been taking progressively longer to settle. Under the new scheme, it should take no longer than forty-four weeks to progress from the service of an initial claim letter to the mandatory neutral evaluation stage.

The plans outline using template letters and model expert reports in the initial presentation of evidence. Next, the defendant, i.e. healthcare provider, must acknowledge receipt of the claim within three weeks. Then, within six months, they would have to admit liability and suggest a settlement – or notify their intention to contest the claim. Finally, patients or their legal representatives would have two weeks to confirm receipt and six weeks to respond fully to the defendant’s reply.

Patients’ legal costs are usually awarded against the defendant if found negligent. Under the standard track, the cap will be £6,000 plus 20 per cent of the amount awarded in damages. The light track limits fees to £1,500 plus 10 per cent of the award.

In both cases, the damage payment receivable by successful litigants remains intact. Most legal action is under a no-win-no-fee arrangement.

Cases involving three or more expert witnesses or multiple defendants will not be subject to the above limits. Exceptions also apply to stillbirths, neonatal deaths and when the defendant highlights the restriction as a potential issue, given the nature of the alleged mistreatment.

Mixed reaction

Predictably, lawyers’ groups recorded their dismay at the announcement. Concerns were that the plans could stop victims of medical negligence from receiving fair compensation.

Lawyers questioned why the government had not dealt more robustly with unnecessary and problematic delays in responding to claims. Handling claims more efficiently would decrease costs. Furthermore, while the streamlined process limits the number of experts using model reports, there is no limit to the fees expert witnesses could charge.

The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers depicted a significant hurdle for patients to negotiate. Its spokesperson, Suzanne Trask, accused the government of failing to address patient safety issues and doing nothing to address the financial cost and human misery suffered by victims of medical mistreatment. She emphasised that negligence settlements were only a tiny proportion of the NHS budget.

In contrast, one defence group considered that the proposals did not go far enough. It urged a rapid rollout and extra measures to minimise the adversarial face of litigation.

Ministers countered that the proposals would not affect access to justice for injured patients.

Stone Rowe Brewer LLP provides high-quality legal services for individuals and businesses. Our private client lawyers are practical, proactive and friendly. If you want to learn more about the video-witnessed wills legislation extension or have any general queries, please call us on 020 8891 6141. 

As the end of Coronavirus Job Retention (Furlough) Scheme approaches fast (31st October 2020), we focus here on the option that employers have of using a settlement agreement in order to manage their workforce requirements when faced with the uncertain economic effect of Covid-19. We also look at settlement agreements here from the point of view of employees who have been offered them.

What happens when Furlough ends?

Furlough has provided a means to avoid employees being made redundant by partly funding their wages if it is unsafe for them to go into the workplace and if they could not work from home. Nonetheless many employers have still felt the need to make redundancies and as the Furlough scheme comes to a close this will be further to the forefront of the minds of employers that are concerned over the longer-term impact of Covid-19 on the economy. In some cases, this may involve a settlement agreement which offers employees the potential to receive a better redundancy package while also preventing them from bringing an employment tribunal against the employer.

It should also be stressed that employers can also make employees redundant at any point while the Furough scheme is in place. On the flip side, to encourage job retention, and before going down the redundancy or settlement agreement route, employers should consider that the government will pay businesses a £1,000 bonus for every furloughed employee employers keep on until the end of January.

What is a protected conversation?

The concept of a protected conversation is to allow employers to enter into discussions with an employee with a view to terminating their employment under a settlement agreement, without the parties being able to rely on the details of the conversation as evidence of an unfair dismissal claim. This is therefore when employees usually first become aware that they will be offered a settlement agreement and is often completely out of the blue. It is immediately following that protected conversation that many employees sensibly decide to take legal advice.

What are the key features of Settlement Agreement?

A Settlement Agreement is a legal contract entered into between an employer and an employee to end the employment relationship.

When entering into a Settlement Agreement, an employee would normally agree that:

1. their employment is terminated,
2. they accept a sum in compensation, and
3. they agree not to sue their employers.

Every settlement agreement must be supported by independent legal advice provided to the employee with the legal fees of such advice met fully or, at least, partly by the employer.

What are the benefits of a Settlement Agreement for an Employee?

Difficulties and conflicts at work are often extremely stressful for any employee. Instead of spending weeks or months involved in internal procedures, mediation and an Employment Tribunal claim, many employees prefer to move on and put any dispute behind them. The financial compensation paid under a settlement agreement can reflect what has taken place and should be over and above the employee’s contractual entitlements and statutory rights. The payment under the settlement agreement would therefore often in effect constitute an enhanced redundancy package. This ultimately then means an employee can get compensated without the stress and uncertainty of going through an Employment Tribunal process.

What are the benefits of a Settlement Agreement for an Employer?

A Settlement Agreement is often a mechanism to implement a commercial decision to end a dispute quickly and sensibly, without admitting any fault or liability and also keeping any dispute confidential.

Even after a lengthy internal process, an employer may still be taken to an Employment Tribunal in any event, with little to gain from even if the outcome of the proceedings is in favour of the employer. The employer will have unrecoverable legal costs and valuable management time gone forever, not to mention the potential bad publicity. Settlement Agreements circumnavigate such negative scenarios and give an employer certainty, and control over their costs, and they are effective in terms of risk management.

Let us take it from here

If you have been provided with a settlement agreement by your employer, we shall be pleased to assist you in providing the required advice and your employers will often agree to pay all your legal fees for obtaining that advice.

If you are an employee or employer and would like further information, you can speak to one of our civil dispute resolution solicitors on 020 8891 6141. Alternatively, contact Jamie Jones or Paige Symns to discuss your settlement agreement.