Joseph Brightman, a solicitor specialising in landlord and tenant matters at Attwells Solicitors, reminds residential landlords of the importance of registering deposits paid by tenants
East Anglia Daily Times – 1 Dec 2009
SINCE April 1, 2007, the Housing Act (2004) has placed an obligation on a landlord who lets a property under an Assured Shorthold Tenancy to protect the security deposit within a Deposit Protection Scheme.
Various schemes exist but, briefly, they fall into two categories. The first is that the money is held in a separate designated account and should the landlord wish to make any deductions it must make an application to the relevant scheme provider and if necessary any dispute be resolved by an independent adjudicator.
The second is an insurance-based scheme where landlords retains the security deposit themselves but in the event that the landlord does not comply with the scheme or return any of the money to the tenant the insurance policy will pay out those funds and pursue the lLandlord themselves.
In both cases, the tenant can be sure of having an independent mechanism for determining how much money should be returned to them at the end of the tenancy.
The Housing Act (2004) goes further than just requiring protection of the security deposit. It also requires that information is provided to the tenant regarding the specific Deposit Protection Scheme that is being used and details of how the tenant can dispute any deductions the landlord proposes to make.
