By Tessa Shepperson
Are you a tenant in England or Wales UK? Did you pay a deposit to your landlord? If it was paid after 7 April 2007 - did you know that your landlord should have protected this in a government authorised tenancy deposit protection scheme (TDPS)?
How did this come about?
Tenancy deposit protection was set up after years of complaints by tenants organisations that many landlords were failing to return deposits and claiming expenses without justification, relying on tenants reluctance to take them to court. For example back in 1998 the Citizens Advice Bureau published 'Unsafe Deposit' a report calling for a statutory tenancy deposit scheme along the lines of an existing scheme run in Australia.
Does it apply to me?
The regulations became enforceable on 7th April 2007. If you paid a deposit for an assured shorthold tenancy (AST) after that date, then yes! If you paid a deposit before then, but your landlord has given you a new tenancy after 7 April 2007, then yes again! However the regulations only apply to deposits paid by tenants with ASTs. They do not apply to 'common law' tenancies - these are normally where the tenant is a limited company, where the rent is over £25,000 pa, or if the landlord lives in the same building as the tenant (unless he lives in a separate flat in a purpose built block of flats). So for instance if you are lodger living in your landlords home, he does not have to protect your deposit.
What must landlords do now then?
All deposits must be protected with one of the following three schemes:
The Deposit Protection Service - depositprotection.com
My Deposits - mydeposits.co.uk
The Dispute Service - thedisputeservice.co.uk
This must be done within 14 days of you paying the deposit to the landlord or his agent. The landlord or agent must then, again within this 14 day period, serve on you a notice giving information about which scheme your deposit is protected with, and other prescribed information. All three schemes have excellent web-sites where you can find out more about their service.
What are the penalities for landlords who don't comply?
If a deposit is not protected, then any section 21 possession notice served on you will be invalid, and your landlrod will not be able to evict you (at least not under section 21 - he can still evict you for rent arears). Also you go can to court and ask for the return of your deposit, plus a 'fine' of three times the deposit amount.
So, how does the TDPS benefit me?
If your deposit is covered under one of the schemes, you are guaranteed to get it back, provided you leave the property in an acceaptable condition with no rent arrears. For example if your landlord 'does a runner' with your deposit money, then the scheme adminstrators will have to pay it you (although it may take some time and there will be quite a bit of form filling).
Also, if after you leave, your landlord wants to make a deduction which you do not agree with, you can go to an independent arbitrator. This is completely free of charge, and if you win, you should be paid your money within 10 days.
What do I do if my landlord hasn't protected my deposit?
First of all, contact all the schemes and ask them to check whether your deposit is protected with them. If they all say no, then you can go to the county court and claim your money back, plus the fine of three times the deposit money.
© Tessa Shepperson
