I had to move away and rented out my own house via letting agent. I had an exemplary tenant the first time and when she left I refunded her deposit in full. I returned to the same letting agents for my second tenants. The letting agent took their commission and returned the balance to me. My tenants ended up being a nightmare... Causing damage to my property totalling around £1200 to repair. Much of the damage wasn't discovered until I moved back in to my house and resumed residence.i told the tenants they couldn't have their deposit back as it was not as much as the cost of repairs. They have taken me to court ( in dec) saying their deposit was not protected and I've heard I may have to repay them 3x the amount which I don't have... Do I have a leg to stand on as I went through an agency trying to do everything correctly but they failed to tell me about the tenancy deposit schem. Will be genuine ignorance of this count for anything or will they be able to make me bankrupt/ take my house off me? Is the county court judge able to use his discretion when he understands my side of the story? Please help- I'm very anxious- thank you .
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