£500 Million tenant deposits safeguarded

Half a billion pounds in tenants' deposits have been safeguarded by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme in less than a year since deposit protection and Alternative Dispute Resolution became mandatory. That's according to new research published by eafocus and released by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme.

 

Chief Executive of the-energy-portal, Stephen Callaghan commenting on the news said, "By March 1st this year, the scheme covered nearly 450,000 tenancies, housing close to 700,000 tenants in property owned by 335,000 landlords. During 2007, an average of 127 disputes a month were resolved through ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution)." The number of disputes sent to the scheme continues to rise.

 

My Deposits claims that this proves the scheme has been a resounding success.

"After only 12 months, it is quite clear tenancy deposit protection has clarified the rights and responsibilities of tenant, landlord and letting agent," said David Salusbury, MyDeposits chairman.

"With so few disputes actually being notified and only 20 per cent of these requiring external adjudication, it seems that this kind of self-regulation is proving to be extremely effective," he added.

TDS was introduced in the UK on April 6th 2007 and landlords who fail to enter such a scheme face a large fine.

 

Citizens Advice social policy officer Liz Phelps said: "It is real cause for celebration that one year on from the introduction of the government's tenancy deposit protection - something we campaigned for over many years - one million deposits are now protected."

Ms Phelps did however warn that there is "still some way to go before all tenants can benefit" and claimed that many landlords are still not complying with the scheme.