Ensuring your deposit is protected
From 6 April 2007, all deposits for rent up to £25,000 per annum taken by Landlords and Letting Agents for Assured Shorthold Tenancies in England and Wales must be protected by a tenancy deposit protection scheme. I use an insurance-based scheme MyDeposits which operates as follows:
At the beginning of the tenancy:
- The Tenant pays the deposit to the Landlord
- The Landlord pays the registration fee to the insurer
- The Landlord retains the deposit
Within 30 days of receiving a deposit
The Landlord must give the Tenant the details about how their deposit is protected including:
- The contact details of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme selected
- The Landlord’s contact details
- How to apply for the release of the deposit
- Information explaining the purpose of the deposit
- What to do if there is a dispute about the deposit
At the end of the tenancy
- Assuming an agreement is reached about how the deposit should be divided, the Landlord returns all or some of the deposit
- If there is a formal dispute, the Landlord must hand over the disputed amount to the scheme for safekeeping until the dispute is resolved
- If for any reason the Landlord fails to comply, the insurance arrangements will ensure the return of the deposit to the tenant if they are entitled to it
Please follow the link below for information about the scheme I use.