Landlord statutory declaration
Gone are the days where landlords could hold their tenants' deposits and deduct from them as they see fit. All rental deposits must be placed in the Deposit Protection Scheme.
If the landlord needs to deduct an amount from the deposit to recover costs, they must apply to the Deposit Protection Scheme, giving their reasons for doing so. The landlord is legally required to make a statutory declaration that the information they are giving is true and correct, to protect tenants from corrupt landlords.
If the information is found to be false, they can face criminal prosecution under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954.
Making a Statutory Declaration to a solicitor is mandatory to the process, they can then make deductions from the tenant's deposit if the tenant is absent or will not co-operate.
What is the landlord statutory declaration process?
- 1
Complete your Landlord’s statutory declaration from your deposit scheme
- 2
Book an appointment with a Commissioner for oath, Solicitor, Justice of the Peace (e.g. Magistrate) or Notary
- 3
Make your declaration
- 4
Email or post the completed form to the deposit protection scheme
What is the cost of a Landlord Statutory Declaration?
Our solicitor is available from 29/04/2024* and we offer statutory declarations for a fixed fee of £150 INC VAT.
Frequently Asked Questions
You are declaring the information within the landlord statutory declaration form is correct and you state to your solicitor:
"AND I MAKE THIS SOLEMN DECLARATION conscientiously believing the same to be true, and by virtue of the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835, knowing that if I knowingly and wilfully make a false declaration I may be liable to prosecution under the Perjury Act 1911."
The landlord can make deductions for:
- Rent arrears
- Damage to property
- Cleaning
- Redecoration
- Gardening
- Other
The different deposit schemes will have their own template you can download. You should contact your scheme to get an up to date template.
No you can't because the declaration is a legislative requirement. The deposit protection scheme does not have any discretion to release the deposit without receiving the completed landlord statutory declaration.
More than 14 calendar days since the date the tenancy (including any renewals or statutory periodic tenancies) ended.
* Subject to availability. If we are fully booked ask and we will see if we can fit you in sooner.
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