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Deposit protection schemes helping ease landlord-tenant tensions

27th April 2012

Five years on from the introduction of laws making it mandatory to protect tenant deposits in the private rental market, there appears to be a more co-operative and conciliatory attitude in place between landlords and tenants.

Before these schemes were introduced, disputes over deposits were one of the most prevalent issues for landlords and the people renting their properties. The success of authorised deposit protection schemes such as mydeposits has helped to take out much of the sting from these dealings, ensuring that everything is fair and above board.

Tenants welcome the extra financial security that these schemes give them, while landlords also benefit from the lowered potential for costly disputes.

But even if protection schemes are helping owners and their renters see eye to eye, it is still important to takeout residential landlord insurance so that you're protected in the event that a deposit doesn't cover the cost of repairs for damage to a property.

Security deposits typically consist of six weeks' rent. This can be a significant amount of money and will cover the cost of any small repairs or maintenance that is required, but more serious work could see landlords running into thousands of pounds of debt if they don't have appropriate cover in place.

Even though risks remain in the landlord-client relationship, deposit protection schemes have helped change the terms of this contract.

Speaking at the Property Business Show at Excel in London, Tenancy Deposit Scheme chief executive Steve Harriott said that five years of deposit protection has remove much of the antagonism between landlords and tenants over deposit matters.

"No longer is it automatically believed that private sector landlords will regard the deposits they hold as part of the rent, nor that tenants will withhold the last rent payments for fear of not getting their deposits back. And, both landlords and agents have become much better at managing disputes at the end of a tenancy," he said.

Posted by Lisa Evans

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