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In the UK, deposits for an Assured-Shorthold Tenancy Agreement (AST) are protected under a Tenancy Deposit Scheme. Which provides protection for tenants and arbitration should there be any disputes.

However, a License Agreement may specify that a deposit is not protected under any kind of tenancy deposit scheme, and also that the licensee is not protected under the housing act of 1988. Therefore, the tenant's deposit is held by the licensor in a 'client account', who gets to dictate the deductions at the end of the license agreement as well as what these cost.

Should there be a situation where there is a dispute in the inventory report/ deposit return. What legal methods/ pathways are available to a tenant who wishes to dispute this and take it to a court if necessary?

I tried the following question but to no avail, because many questions relate to AST agreements and not to license agreements:

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  • You might like to read License Agreement which discusses why a licence agreement may actually be a tenancy in law.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Apr 22 at 21:38
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    That's interesting. Could a license agreement still be considered a tenancy even if it explicitly states in the license that the agreement is not protected under the UK 1988 Housing Act?
    – Hamish Gibson
    Commented Apr 22 at 21:41
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    No agreement can refute a law, just because it says so. The link gives the House of Lords decision of the conditions that would make it a tenancy.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Apr 22 at 21:43
  • ...and says that labelling it as a licence does not make it such, if in law the agreement is a tenancy.
    – Weather Vane
    Commented Apr 22 at 21:50
  • For a real situation, contact Shelter and Citizens Advice.
    – Lag
    Commented Apr 23 at 6:08

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As mentioned in the comments, first check if it actually an assured tenancy and not a mis-described licence agreement.

If it is a licence agreement then deposits are not protected in the same way as assured tenancies, so

For licences, you should raise your dispute with the landlord first in writing (and it is definitely worth getting advice to do this) but if you cannot resolve this, your only option is to go to the County Court to issue a claim against your landlord. See Here

(This source is for student accommodation but the process is the same for all licence agreements, just this was the best explanation I could find)

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