Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS)

 In accordance with the Housing Act 2004 there are rules concerning the holding of tenants’ deposits. The TDS requires that any deposit taken from a tenant or tenants under an Assured Shorthold Tenancy must now be protected.

We are members of The Dispute Service Ltd., this means that we will be able to hold the deposits for you. The scheme requires us to register all deposits received and to pay the necessary premiums and membership fees. At the end of the tenancy, the landlord/agent must endeavour to agree with the tenant how the deposit is to be divided. If no agreement can be reached about how much of the deposit should be returned, there will be a service to help resolve disputes, offered by the scheme which is protecting the deposit. There is no charge for this service as it is included in the cost of joining the scheme. The parties are not obliged to use this service as each has the right of redress through the courts if preferred.

If the landlord and tenant both agree to use the service to resolve disputes offered by their scheme provider, they are agreeing to be bound by its decision. The case will then be referred to the Independent Case Examiner (ICE) who will make his judgement.
We will be working on the assumption that all landlords will wish for us to hold deposits on their behalf. If you do not wish for us to do this then please let us know. We can send the deposit on to you but you will need to register it with one of the schemes yourself. The penalty for non compliance is a payment to the tenant of three times the amount of the deposit.

There is a nominal fee to cover our administrative expenses and the cost of insurance and fees. This will amount to £35.00 + VAT per new tenancy regardless of the number of tenants. The fee will only apply when we receive a new deposit on your behalf.