New duties for landlords

The Borough Council is warning landlords and tenants about new deposit protection rules.

From Friday 6 April 2007, landlords must protect all deposits for assured shorthold tenancies using one of three schemes authorised by central government. Under the new rules, a landlord who fails to protect a deposit may be fined and will lose his or her right to regain possession of the property by giving two months’ written notice.

Central government has introduced the new rules in order to:

• encourage every tenant and landlord to reach agreement about a property’s condition at the beginning of a tenancy; and

ensure that tenants get all or part of their deposit back when they are entitled to it.

Listed below are details of the three deposit protection and dispute resolution schemes authorised by central government:

• The Deposit Protection Service (DPS) is a custodial scheme, which means the landlord pays the tenant’s deposit into the scheme. It is free to use and funded entirely from the interest earned on deposits held. The scheme will be supported by a dedicated call centre and an independent dispute resolution service. For more information, visit www.depositprotection.com or call 0870 707 1 707.

• Tenancy Deposit Solutions Ltd (TDSL) is an insurance-based scheme where the landlord holds the deposit and pays a premium to the insurer. TDSL is partnership between the National Landlords Association and Hamilton Fraser Insurance. For more information, visit www.mydeposits.co.uk

• The Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) is another insurance-based scheme, where the landlord holds the deposit and pays a premium to the insurer. The scheme builds on a service established in 2003 to provide dispute resolution and complaints handling for the lettings industry. For more information, visit www.tds.gb.com or call 0845 226 7837.

For further details telephone the Council’s Housing team on 01773 841409 or visit www.direct.gov.uk