What are the new Tenancy Deposit Schemes?

These schemes have been developed to ensure that tenants' deposits are protected and that disputes about their return are resolved swiftly, inexpensively and impartially.

Why is it in place?

Before April 6th 2007, tenants in the private sector gave their landlords a deposit against possible non-payment of rent or damage to the property. When a tenancy came to an end, there was usually no disagreement about the return of the deposit. However, this wasn't always the case, and that caused much hardship and inconvenience to both landlord and tenant.

From April 6th 2007, all private landlords and Letting Agents not belonging to a body such as ARLA must belong to an approved tenancy deposit scheme. This involves sending the deposit away to a custodial scheme that will hold it on behalf of the agent or private landlord, or registering it with an insurance based scheme. This could be costly to the tenant or the landlord as these schemes are not all run free of charge. Thus the landlord/agent may try to pass on any associated costs. For landlords that only have one or two properties, the process of registering the deposit, and themselves, could be very time consuming.

As Luff Associates are a full member of ARLA (The Association of Residential Letting Agents), we are legally allowed to hold the deposit on behalf of our landlords. This is completely free of charge for landlords and tenants, and it offers peace of mind to both parties. Research shows that tenants are far more likely to take a property through an ARLA registered agent, and we still register the deposit with an approved scheme (we use the Tenancy Deposit Scheme - TDS which is run by The Dispute Service).

Luff Associates strive to maintain a service that is second to none, so it is no surprise that we are consistently recommended to new and existing landlords. Even some of our tenants come back to us when they become landlords themselves.

Click here to order one of our landlord guides or call 01276 64881 and speak to one of our friendly and professional lettings team.