In 2014, one in six landlords required to provide evidence after a deposit dispute either missed the deadline, or did not send anything, causing an automatic ruling or pay-out for the tenant, according to the Deposit Protection Service (DPS).1
The DPS protects deposits during tenancy agreements, and also offers an independent adjudication service for disputes. They claim that 17.63% of landlords missed the deadline or did not respond.1
Tenants were even less likely to provide evidence on time, with more than 22.86% either submitting evidence after the deadline, or not delivering any at all.1
Head of Adjudication at the DPS, Alexandra Coghlan-Forbes, says: “Too many landlords and tenants are shooting themselves in the foot during disputes by failing to get us the evidence we need to assess their cases. We do everything we can to make sure both parties understand what’s needed and by when, and it’s important that both landlords and tenants meet the 14 calendar day deadline.”1
Last year, it was more common to not provide evidence at all than missing the deadline, with evidence from 10.37% of landlords, and 15.77% of tenants never being delivered.1
1 http://www.landlordtoday.co.uk/news_features/Many-landlords-fail-to-contest-dispute-resolution-cases