Disputing a Deposit Refund (With Client Accounting)
This article explains how to handle a deposit dispute if you use Street for your Client Accounting. If you do not use Street for your client accounting, it's important to note it's not possible to handle a dispute in Street.
Initiating a deposit dispute is handled during the Refunding a Deposit process but the workflow is slightly different.
Note - You can process a deposit dispute for Custodial and Insured deposits only. Held by Owner deposits cannot be disputed through Street as the landlord will be handling the deposit and any disputes.
To get started, on the tenancy deposit page click the 'add refund outcome' button as you would when beginning a deposit refund. From here the process varies depending on the type of scheme.
Custodial Deposit Dispute
If there is a dispute with a custodial deposit, the disputed amount should be added in the 'to scheme (disputed amount)' field on the refund outcome page and click confirm.
The deposit status will be updated to 'In Dispute' and a new 'add dispute outcome' button will appear.
When the scheme has confirmed the outcome you should click this button and enter the outcome details, how much is going to the tenant and how much for the owner. Once processed, the deposit will be updated to 'closed' .
From here, you can wait to receive the owner's disputed share from the scheme and receipt and reconcile onto the Owner Ledger, ready to be used in the Allocate Funds stage for any charges like maintenance work or to be paid to the owner. In most cases the scheme will pay the tenant's share directly to them.
Note - Remember, you should've already received the agreed owner share from the 'add refund outcome' step and receipted that onto the owner ledger. It is just the disputed amount you will be receiving additionally.
Insured Deposit Dispute
If there is a dispute with an insured deposit, the disputed amount should again be added in the 'to scheme (disputed amount)' field on the refund outcome page. The amount agreed to the tenant and owner will immediately move to their respective ledgers, which can be refunded to the tenant / paid to the owner as needed. For more information, see Refunding an Insured Deposit.
The deposit status will be updated to 'In Dispute' and a new 'add dispute outcome' button will appear.
However the amount in dispute will move into Payments to Make > Deposits to be paid to the scheme. This is because the money will currently be in your client / deposit account but you need to send it to the scheme to handle the dispute.
Tip - If you are holding the deposit money in a deposit account but will be sending the disputed amount to the scheme from your client account, don't forget to transfer the deposit back to your client account in Street using the 'Transfer' button before you make any payments.
Once you've paid the disputed amount to the scheme, you should wait for an agreement to be made. When the scheme has confirmed the outcome you should click the 'add dispute outcome' button and enter the outcome details, how much is going to the tenant and how much for the owner. Once processed, the deposit will be updated to 'closed'.
From here, you can wait to receive the owner's disputed share from the scheme and receipt and reconcile onto the Owner Ledger, ready to be used in the Allocate Funds stage for any charges like maintenance work or to be paid to the owner. In most cases the scheme will pay the tenant's share directly to them.
Street is constantly being updated. This can mean that some of these articles become slightly out of date. If you spot something that looks a little bit different to your Street account, please let us know on the live chat so we can get it updated!