Deposit not protected by old landlord?

General Discussion

Hi All,

So I recently issued a section 21 and applied to court for possession of property, only to be hit back with a counterclaim for not protecting the tenants deposit.

I purchased a BTL in October 2019 from auction and as part of the auction pack there was a tenancy agreement which stated no deposit had been paid. Since issuing the claim form the tenant has provided the initial tenancy agreement which was signed in 2011 confirming a £500 deposit had been paid. All subsequent tenancy agreement stated nil deposit.

This was all with the previous landlord. I allowed the tenant to stay in the property on a periodic tenancy without ever giving her an agreement.

Will I be liable for the deposit that I never received and wasn't aware about? And will the tenant be able to sue me on multiple breaches? is there anything I can do to get the money back from the old landlord?

im really struggling and any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks