Tenant Deposit County Court Claim — How to Defend as a Landlord
A county court claim form lands on the doormat and the former tenant wants their deposit back. The response deadline is already ticking: for a paper or MCOL claim it is usually 14 days from deemed service, while an OCMC response is ordinarily due by 4pm on the 28th day after issue. If you miss the deadline, the tenant may request default judgment without a hearing, so the court does not decide the underlying dispute first.
Why tenants sue landlords over deposits
Most deposit disputes begin with deductions. The landlord holds back money for cleaning, damage or unpaid rent. The tenant disagrees, the deposit scheme's free dispute resolution service either was not used or sided with the tenant, and the tenant files a county court money claim.
A separate — and more dangerous — category is section 214 of the Housing Act 2004. If the deposit was never protected in an approved scheme (the Deposit Protection Service, MyDeposits or the Tenancy Deposit Scheme) or the prescribed information was not served within 30 days, the tenant can claim between one and three times the deposit amount. That is not a deduction dispute. It is a penalty claim, and the court must award within that range; it cannot reduce the award below one times the deposit.
Reading the claim form
Open the papers and check three things immediately:
- What is being claimed? Look at the Particulars of Claim. If it references Section 214 Housing Act 2004 and asks for a penalty, the defence is different from a straightforward deposit-return claim.
- Which system was used? A claim number containing "MC" means Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC). An eight-character alphanumeric number means Money Claim Online (MCOL). A paper pack identifies the issuing court or centre. This determines where and how you send your response.
- What is the deadline? Paper claims: 14 days from deemed service (the second business day after posting). MCOL claims: 14 days from the fifth calendar day after the issue date. For OCMC, respond by 4pm on the 28th day after issue; if you could not respond online and the court sends a paper response form, the deadline is 28 days from the date it was sent.
Defending the claim
For a paper or MCOL claim, file an Acknowledgment of Service (Form N9) within 14 days of deemed service to extend the defence deadline to 28 days from deemed service. OCMC uses a different response process and has no 14-day Acknowledgment of Service extension.
Then draft your defence on Form N9B. CPR Part 16 requires you to say for each allegation whether you admit or deny it, give reasons for any denial, or state that you require the claimant to prove it.
For a deposit-deduction dispute, your defence will typically rely on:
- The tenancy agreement's terms on cleaning, damage and condition at check-out
- The check-in and check-out inventory reports (ideally with photographs)
- Receipts or quotes for cleaning and repairs
- Correspondence with the tenant about the deductions
For a Section 214 penalty claim, the defence is narrower. You need to prove the deposit was protected in an approved scheme and the prescribed information was served. Dig out the protection certificate, the confirmation email from the scheme, and proof of service (email, recorded delivery receipt, or a signed acknowledgment).
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What if you partly owe the deposit?
A partial admission is often the pragmatic move. On Form N9A, admit the portion you agree is owed and propose how you will pay it. For a partial admission, send N9A to the issuing court with Form N9B, which defends the remainder. If the tenant accepts the admitted sum in full satisfaction, the case closes. If not, the admitted sum is dealt with under CPR Part 14 and the disputed balance proceeds as a defended claim.
You will need to include a breakdown of your income and expenditure on the N9A form. The court uses this to set instalment terms if the tenant rejects your proposed payment plan.
Preparing for the hearing
Most deposit disputes fall on the small claims track (claims up to £10,000). The hearing is informal, usually in a district judge's room rather than a courtroom. Prepare a bundle with:
- The tenancy agreement
- Check-in and check-out reports
- Photographs of the property condition
- The deposit protection certificate (if you have one)
- Receipts for any work carried out
- Correspondence between you and the tenant
For a defended small claim referred under Practice Direction 51ZE, attend the HMCTS telephone mediation before the hearing; the session can last up to one hour. Refusing to attend without good cause can lead to costs sanctions even if you win at trial.
If the deposit genuinely was not protected, consider whether settling before the hearing at a figure below the maximum three-times penalty is better than the risk of a judge awarding the full amount plus court costs.
The county court money claim response guide walks through every step — from reading the papers to filing the defence and preparing for mediation — with deadline calculators and a defence-drafting framework built for exactly this situation.
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