Deposit Protection Scheme
By law, landlords and agents (in England and Wales) who take a deposit from tenants under and assured shorthold tenancy agreement (AST) must protect that deposit using a government – authorised tenancy deposit protection scheme.
Following extensive research into the advantages and disadvantages of each scheme available, Letting Solutions have opted to use the My deposit scheme. My Deposits is an insurance-based scheme which allows your agent to protect your deposit whilst continuing to hold the money for the duration of the tenancy agreement.
What serves your best interests?
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| An insurance-based scheme specifically designed to enable landlords and agents to hold deposits themselves. | A custodial scheme requiring the landlord to hand over the deposit to the scheme administrator. |
If you wish to hold tenancy deposits, join the mydeposits scheme
LANDLORDS
DO YOU TAKE A DEPOSIT FROM YOUR TENANTS? - YES!
Then you must protect that deposit with a government approved scheme. Letting Solutions protect your deposits with ‘MY DEPOSITS’, with my deposits...
- You retain the deposit for the duration of the tenancy agreement.
- You have the freedom to resolve matters with the tenant at the end of the tenancy without involving others.
- They are there to help you with any disputes.
DEPOSITS
- Do you use Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) agreements for your tenants?
- Do you take a Deposit from your tenants?
- Does the Tenancy Agreement start on or after 6th April 2007?
- Is the property in England or Wales?
If you answer YES to all of these questions, your Tenant's deposit must be protected by a government-approved tenancy deposit scheme, such as mydeposits.
There are 2 types of Tenancy Deposit Protection scheme:
The Law
The law applies to Assured Shorthold Tenancies (AST's) created on or after 06 April 2007 in England and Wales (currently, there is no requirement to protect deposits for tenancies in Scotland).
If the tenancy started on or after 06 April 2007, the Tenant’s deposit must be protected in one of the government-approved schemes.
If a deposit is not protected, the Landlord will be breaking the law. She/He will be unable to regain possession of the property using notice-only grounds for possession under Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988.
The Tenant can apply for a court order requiring the deposit to be protected, or for the prescribed information to be given to them. If the court finds that the Landlord has failed to comply with these requirements, or that the deposit is being held in accordance with an authorised scheme, the court must either:
- Order the landlord to repay the deposit within 14 days of the issuing of the court order, or
- Order the landlord to pay the deposit into the designated account held by the custodial scheme administrator.
The court must also order the Landlord to pay to the Tenant (or person who paid the deposit on his/her behalf) an amount equivalent to three times the deposit amount within 14 days of the making of the order.
MyDeposits Scheme - Info for landlords PDF file [view]
MyDeposits Scheme - Info for tenants PDF file [view]
