Landlords are signing up for TDS schemes

News Category: Management

Around 7,000 new tenancies a day have been registered since Tenancy Deposit Protection became a mandatory requirement in the private rental market, new research suggests.

Figures show that the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) now safeguards the deposits of over 225,000 tenants - worth a total of £150 million.

In total, more than 125,000 landlords are already joined to the TDS scheme, most through regulated letting agents who are members of organisations like Arla, the NAEA and Rics.

While this shows that the scheme has so far been successful, the report warned that there could be trouble in the future.

Lawrence Greenberg, chief executive of the TDS, explained: "There is still too much complacency about mandatory deposit protection in the rental market.

"As a result, some landlords, and even their agents, could be in for a rude shock as tenancies come to an end."

October 6th marks six months since the law was introduced and will see the first group of tenancies come to an end.

Landlords who fail to comply with the scheme can be forced to pay tenants three times the amount of their deposit and can even lose the property.

"Wherever possible, we have simplified all the processes so that landlords and their letting agents are properly prepared for each new tenancy that comes on stream," Mr Greenburg concluded.