Tenancy Deposit Protection proves effective for The Deposit Protection Service’s largest client

On the second anniversary of the scheme (April 2007 – April 2009), figures have been released which show that protection of tenant’s deposits and the schemes have made real progress in their quest to deliver a more secure system for the public. According to the latest survey from The Deposit Protection Service (DPS), some 91% of tenants feel safer since tenancy deposit legislation was introduced 2 years ago.

“Martin & Co has over 13,000 deposits lodged with the DPS and a monetary value in excess of 10 million – making Martin & Co the DPS’s largest client both in terms of volume of deposits and value, and this scheme has been a great success for our customers” commented Ian Wilson Managing Director of Martin & Co.

“However, we are concerned about the number of DIY landlords and amateur letting agents (mostly those which have recently been annexed to an estate agency to bolster falling sales revenues) who ignore, or are unaware of, the legislation. Landlords should know that if they do not provide confirmation that their tenant’s money is formally protected under the scheme within fourteen days of accepting a deposit and to provide the tenant with compulsory information as prescribed by TDP legislation, the landlord can be liable for substantial penalties and also jeopardise their right to evict a problem tenant easily.

Ian added, “The issue was always whether tenants would get their deposit back at the end of their tenancy, and whether the landlord actually has the money to give back to the tenant.

“At Martin & Co we are committed to making it easy for landlords to comply with the increasing amount of mostly positive legislation that regulates the letting of a property. There is generally a low awareness of issues such as the important differences between the various tenancy deposit options and our role as a specialist letting agency is to clarify these, so that letting out, or renting, a property is as straightforward and secure as possible”


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