A landlord who refused to return a flat deposit has been ordered to pay back thousands to two students after telling a tribunal he ‘didn’t see the point’ of a law which requires owners to safeguard the funds.
Laura Pollock and Rhona MacKintosh represented themselves in a tribunal case against Ajitpal Dhillon, who owns 15 properties in and around Glasgow, after the landlord failed to hand back all or part of the £1395 they had put down on the flat.
The young women, who are both studying at Glasgow University, pursued a tribunal case against Mr Dhillon, who had broken the law by failing to lodge the deposit with one of three Scottish Government approved schemes, which are designed to protect both tenant and landlord.
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The tribunal ruled in the students’ favour concluding that Mr Dhillon had acted in breach of his duties under tenancy deposit regulations and he has been ordered to pay them £1,7900 by the First Tier Tribunal for Scotland, which is set up to resolve disputes. The landlord was also told to pay the students an additional £10, in a separate judgement.
Mr Dhillon admitted during the tribunal that it was not an isolated incident.
The ruling has been welcomed by John Blackwood, Chief Executive of the Scottish Association of Landlords who said: “Only by any example being made of those breaking the laws, will poor practice be stamped out once and for all.”
Ms MacKintosh who is studying medicine and history undergraduate Ms Pollock said they took a decision to leave the flat, which is in the Charing Cross area of Glasgow, because they were struggling to pay their rent after losing part-time jobs during the pandemic.
It was noted that the landlord had offered the students 50% off their rent. They gave 30 days notice and left on day 23 with seven days rent outstanding.
At this point, they say Mr Dhillon refused to return their deposit and they were assisted by tenants’ campaign group Living Rent to pursue a case.
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The tribunal found that the witnesses had not given a ‘wholly truthful’ account of their experience but said Mr Dhillon had “repeatedly made untrue assertions” about his compliance with the tenant deposit regulations.
“The respondent had considerable experience as a landlord and should have known better.
“His apparent disregard for his obligations is best summed up by him during his evidence when he said that he ‘did not see the point’ in lodging the deposit with an approved scheme.’”
However, it was acknowledged that Mr Dhillon had accepted the breach at the earliest possible opportunity and had taken steps to ensure future compliance.
Ms Pollock said: “My motive for pursuing action through the tribunal has always been to hold Mr Dhillon accountable and for others to then know of his behaviour."
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John Blackwood, Chief Executive of the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL), said:
“Any tenant whose deposit has not been lodged should not hesitate to take action just like Laura and Rhona have.
“All deposits should be lodged by landlords in one of the three Scottish Government approved schemes.
“These deposit schemes are free of charge for landlords to use and the tenancy deposit law has been in place for many years so there is simply no excuse for deposits not being properly lodged.”
Mr Dhillon is entitled to appeal the ruling within 30 days.
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