Deposit Protection
Since 6th April 2007, any damage deposit taken in relation to an Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) must be protected in one of the three Government authorised schemes. Following the introduction of the Localism Act 2011 which came into effect on 6 April 2012, this must be done within 30 days.
As well as protecting a tenant's deposit, you must also provide the tenant with certain information about how the tenancy is protected; this is known as the prescribed information and can be included in the tenancy agreement. This includes:
- Contact details for the chosen scheme
- How the tenant can apply for a release of the deposit, and
- What should happen if there is a dispute about the deposit
The process of protecting your tenants' deposits is a straightforward one and can be done online. the custodial scheme is also free of charge.
Deposit protection is a legal requirement and there are penalties for non compliance.
More information on Deposit Protection can be found on the Directgov website.
There will be some changes to deposit protection requirements which are included in the Localism Act which is likely to be implemented this April. We will, of course, update the news section of our website, as soon as these changes are put into practice.
Below are the links to each of the four deposit protection schemes:
Custodial Scheme
Deposit Protection Service
http://www.depositprotection.com/
Insurance Based Schemes
My Deposits
Deposit Guard (only available to members of the Residential Landlord Association)
http://www.rla.org.uk/landlord/tenancy_deposit_scheme/deposit_guard.shtml
The Dispute Service (only available to letting agents)
