Legal News
Landlords Warned Over Tenant Deposit Act (11 January 2012)
Date: 11/01/2012
From April of this year, landlords who fail to look after their tenants’ deposits may face court action that could amount to up to four times the value of the deposit placed. A Sheffield-based housing solicitor has told of how landlords will risk significant financial penalties in the event that their fail to secure their tenants’ deposits within an approved scheme.
The so-called “Localism Act” requires all landlords to secure their tenants’ deposits and provide information relating to the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) to their tenants within 30 days. Tenants should therefore expect to receive a leaflet entitled “What is the Tenancy Deposit Scheme?” in addition to a deposit protection certificate. The landlord should also register the safekeeping of his tenants’ deposit through the TDS tenancy database.
Housing solicitors have warned landlords that the time limit for placing a deposit into an approved scheme is strict and in the event that the deposit has not been protected by landlords within 30 days of receipt, tenants will be able to submit an immediate claim. Tenants will also be able to claim once their tenancies have ended or if their landlords secure the deposit in a scheme after the 30-day time limit. In the event that a landlord protects the deposit following the 30-day limit, the courts will consider this when determining the financial penalty the landlord is required to pay. Landlords and letting agents therefore need to familiarise themselves with the new rules and understand that they are increasingly likely to incur financial penalties should they fail to comply with the act.
Duncan Lewis’ housing solicitors are experts in solving disputes between landlords and tenants.