Tenancy Deposits - Making Sure You Get Them Back
Anyone familiar with renting property will be aware that the holding and returning of deposits can seem like a bit of a grey area.
However this should not be the case - there are clear rules and regulations as to what must happen to a deposit once it has reached the landlord, and what must be done if a dispute occurs in respect of the return of that deposit.
In 2007 the UK Government ruled that all deposits taken for Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs), in England and Wales, must be protected under an approved scheme within 14 days of receipt by the landlord.
Those insurance schemes must then deal with any dispute that arises as a result of the failure to return a deposit at the end of a tenancy.
The resulting system means that the deposit will be held by a neutral party and will not be released until an agreement has been reached as to whether a deposit should be returned or not.
If an agreement is not made by the landlord and the tenant then the intermediate scheme representative will step in and make the decision based on the evidence available.
On occasion, it is the case that a landlord may not have placed the deposit in one of these schemes.
That is now against the law and legal action can be taken against the landlord, resulting in compensation for the tenant.
After tenants have handed over their deposit they should receive a letter from the landlord indicating what scheme their money has been deposited with, and the contact details for that company so that they can check.
If the landlord has not provided this information, the tenant is well within their rights to ask for it.
In the event of a dispute, where the tenant believes that the landlord is unfairly refusing to return the deposit, additional compensation may be awarded to the tenant if the insurance scheme also deems this to be the case.
The tenant can claim compensation for damages resulting from the delay of receiving that money, and for the money and effort they would have put in to claim their deposit back.
There is a great deal of information out there about this so it pays to do a little research when entering into an AST so that if a dispute does arise, you know exactly where you stand.
However this should not be the case - there are clear rules and regulations as to what must happen to a deposit once it has reached the landlord, and what must be done if a dispute occurs in respect of the return of that deposit.
In 2007 the UK Government ruled that all deposits taken for Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs), in England and Wales, must be protected under an approved scheme within 14 days of receipt by the landlord.
Those insurance schemes must then deal with any dispute that arises as a result of the failure to return a deposit at the end of a tenancy.
The resulting system means that the deposit will be held by a neutral party and will not be released until an agreement has been reached as to whether a deposit should be returned or not.
If an agreement is not made by the landlord and the tenant then the intermediate scheme representative will step in and make the decision based on the evidence available.
On occasion, it is the case that a landlord may not have placed the deposit in one of these schemes.
That is now against the law and legal action can be taken against the landlord, resulting in compensation for the tenant.
After tenants have handed over their deposit they should receive a letter from the landlord indicating what scheme their money has been deposited with, and the contact details for that company so that they can check.
If the landlord has not provided this information, the tenant is well within their rights to ask for it.
In the event of a dispute, where the tenant believes that the landlord is unfairly refusing to return the deposit, additional compensation may be awarded to the tenant if the insurance scheme also deems this to be the case.
The tenant can claim compensation for damages resulting from the delay of receiving that money, and for the money and effort they would have put in to claim their deposit back.
There is a great deal of information out there about this so it pays to do a little research when entering into an AST so that if a dispute does arise, you know exactly where you stand.
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