Deposit schemes

Protecting the tenant’s deposit

Since April 2007, it has been the law for landlords to protect their tenants’ deposits in a government-approved deposit scheme in England and Wales; this was then introduced into N.Ireland and Scotland. This allows landlords and tenants to deal with deposits in a transparent way and for any issues to be resolved independently. It is good practice to provide your tenant with a copy of the deposit certificate.

Failure to protect your tenant’s deposit in this way can result in a fine of up to three times the deposit amount.

The government-approved schemes are:

•    MyDeposits
•    Tenancy Deposit Scheme
•    Deposit Protection Service

At Hunters, we protect our tenants’ deposits through all three schemes dependent upon the branch. Please ask at your local branch. More information can be found on the individual schemes at the appropriate websites.

Deposit schemes apply only to Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST); for other tenancies, any agreement should outline how the deposit will be held, including:

•    The amount
•    What the deposit can be used for
•    How it will be returned.