ROOF Blog

More than £800 million has been deposited in the tenancy deposit schemes, an increase of a quarter of a billion pounds in less than 12 months, covering more than 800,000 tenancies and 1.25 million tenants. The number of disputes has also risen, with 6,000 handled in 2008/9. It has been nearly two years since the schemes were introduced after a campaign by Shelter.

The tenancy deposit scheme (TDS) has published figures for disputes involving return of deposits. The majority, 52 per cent, sent to the TDS involved cleaning, with almost half – 45 per cent – from disputes about damage. The amounts averaged about half of the total deposit, which stood at an average of £1,079. Since its introduction in April 2008, the TDS covers more than 768,000 tenancies, has resolved more than 3,500 disputes and is safeguarding £757 million in deposits.

The tenancy deposit scheme (TDS) will only provide deposit protection and alternative dispute resolution to agents who are members of recognised professional bodies. The TDS said it was writing to all members who are unregulated agents to inform them that they will have to make alternative arrangements to protect deposits when cover finishes for them in April. It is writing to tenants also, but has advised them to ensure that their landlords have made alternative arrangements.

The vast majority of tenants get on well with their landlord according to research by the Deposit Protection Scheme (DPS). Eighty-four per cent of tenants said they get on well with their landlord and nearly a quarter of those described their relationship with them as fantastic. Only 16 per cent of respondents said they did not have a good relationship with them. Since the DPS was established just over 880 cases out of 113,000 repayments have been resolved through the scheme.