Landlords struggling to claim money through the deposit protection schemes can now call on the services of a deposit protection adjudicator who has set up an online service to help landlords avoid the common pitfalls and to successfully claim the money they are owed.

Tom Derrett, formerly a deposit protection adjudicator, has set up ADR Solution, an online service giving specialist legal advice to landlords on how to maximise their chances of winning deposit protection disputes. rather than enforcing the rules against landlords, Tom is giving them the benefit of his unique insider knowledge.

“As an adjudicator I had to decide claims based on the evidence in front of me,” said Tom, a qualified lawyer, “but I often felt that the landlord could have won if they took some advice on how to present their claim. Seeing an obvious gap in the market, I decided to set up a company to provide landlords with the advice they need”

Since the introduction of the controversial deposit protection legislation in 2007, landlords have struggled to claim the money they are owed through the deposit protection schemes. If, at the end of the tenancy, the landlord and tenant cannot decide how much of the security deposit should be retained to compensate for any necessary repairs or redecoration, the deposit protection schemes run their own ADR (alternative dispute resolution) departments, to resolve the dispute free of charge.

Figures released by My Deposits last year show that landlords only won the full amount they claimed in 8% of cases, whereas tenants were awarded all of the money in almost half of the disputes. Tom Derrett intends to even the odds for landlords.

“I just don’t accept that half of all landlords’ claims are without merit. The landlords that I deal with are genuine businessmen and women who are trying to get what they are owed. I am certain that together we can reverse the trend.”

Landlords have argued that the deposit protection disputes are biased in the favour of the tenant, but this is not a charge that Mr Derrett accepts.

“People often tell me that the system is not fair and that the tenant always wins. My opinion is that landlords lose, not because the system isn’t fair, but because the system is too fair. The disputes are resolved to legal standards, within a legal framework, which is precisely why landlords need proper legal advice in order to win.”