Deposit Protection – England and Wales

When renting in England and Wales typically it will be necessary to pay a deposit to the landlord to protect the property. The Landlord or Managing Agents may use this deposit when the tenancy comes to an end to pay for damages to the property caused by a tenant.

To protect your deposit as best as possible it is important that you take your own condition report (pictures and notes) of any damages to the property that already exist. You should do this as soon as possible after the tenancy begins and send the information to the Landlord or managing agent.

Now that information is safely stored and received you may use that condition report at the end of the tenancy to defend any disputes at the end of the tenancy.

Tenancy Deposit Schemes

Whilst the above is good tenant practice, all landlords, by law, must register a deposit with a Tenancy Deposit Scheme. There are 3 Schemes used for an Assured Shorthold Tenancy in England and Wales.

1. Deposit Protection Service

2. MyDeposits Tenancy

3. Deposit Scheme

Your Agreement provided by the landlord or managing agent will provide information on which scheme your deposit is registered with, and you should receive a certificate of the registration of the deposit within 30 days of moving into a property.

Once your landlord has received your deposit, they have 30 days to tell you:

· The address of the rented property

· How much deposit you’ve paid

· How the deposit is protected

· The name and contact details of the tenancy deposit protection (TDP) scheme and its dispute resolution service

· Their (or the letting agency’s) name and contact details

· The name and contact details of any third party that’s paid the deposit

· Why they would keep some or all of the deposit

· How to apply to get the deposit back

· What to do if you can’t get hold of the landlord at the end of the tenancy

· What to do if there’s a dispute over the deposit

Disputes

At the end of the tenancy, the landlord or managing agents usually conduct a review of the property and produce a report on damages (if any) and costs to be deduct from the deposit.

You must be informed of this within 10 days of the vacating.

Your tenancy deposit protection (TDP) scheme offers a free dispute resolution service if you disagree with your landlord about how much deposit should be returned.

You don’t have to use the service but if you do, both you and the landlord have to agree to it. You’ll both be asked to provide evidence, and the decision made about your deposit will be final. This is where to original condition report you did will come in handy!

Thank you for reading out Article on Deposits and renting in the UK.

At DreamMove We Offer a number of tailored Rental Sourcing Services to help you find the right place to live! Property Sourcing link

If you do require more in depth assistance; click Dreammove; we are here to help.