Deposits

As part of the Housing Act 2004 the Government introduced tenancy deposit protection for all Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs) in England and Wales where a deposit is taken. Since April 6th 2007, all deposits paid under an AST have had to be protected within 14 calendar days of receipt by the landlord.

The legislation covers virtually all new AST contracts for private landlords who let property in England and Wales. It aims to ensure that tenants who have paid a deposit to a landlord or letting agent and are entitled to receive all or part of it back at the end of that tenancy, actually get it.

There are some exceptions to the list of tenants who do not qualify for protection under the legislation, these are where:

• there is a resident landlord (those living in the property)
• the landlord has a property with rent of over £100,000* a year company lets
• student accommodation let directly by universities or colleges.

Any Deposits taken before 6 April 2007 do not need to be protected by a scheme. However, when an existing tenancy is renewed and a landlord agrees a new fixed-term tenancy, the initial deposit taken must then be lodged with a tenancy deposit protection scheme. With effect from 1st October 2010, properties with a rent of up £100,000 will need to be and AST and have their deposit protected in an appropriate scheme, even if the tenancy began before that date.

* previously £25,000

Tenancy Deposit

Raylets will pay all tenants deposits into the Deposit Protection Service.  (The DPS). The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS) is open to all landlords and letting agents, and is the only scheme that is free to use. All funds are ring fenced in accordance with client money regulations. If we are finding a tenant for a landlord, we will lodge the deposit through the Raylets account and transfer to a DPS account set up in the landlords name.

At the end of the tenancy if there is a dispute between the parties, an independent and free Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) service will aim to resolve any disputes quickly and without the need for court action. Landlords, agents and tenants could also earn interest on any proportion of the deposit they are entitled to retain at the end of a tenancy.

Landlords, agents and tenants can all request the repayment of a deposit to the appropriate parties at the end of a tenancy – either jointly or independently, online or by calling the DPS and requesting a paper form. When one party requests a repayment, the other needs to confirm whether they agree with the proposal, by completing an acceptance form – either online or by post. It is in the best interests of all parties to agree promptly on how the deposit is to be repaid, so that everyone receives the funds due to them quickly and amicably. All deposits are repaid within 10 calendar days of the correctly completed acceptance form being received by The DPS.