Tenancy deposit protection means 86% of tenants get cash back

mydeposits.co.uk, a Government-authorised insurance-based tenancy deposit protection scheme protecting over £177 million of deposits, has published its figures marking the first anniversary of the legislation.

Out of 200,000 individual deposits protected throughout the year by over 31,000 landlords and letting agents, there were only 341 actual disputes notified to the scheme.

From these 341 disputes, only 20% (64 cases) of the more intractable cases needed to be adjudicated through Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). This process relies on evidence provided by all parties in order to reach a final and binding decision on how much, if any, of the deposit should be returned to the tenant.

In 86% of these more serious disputes, the ADR has found in favour of the tenant: 45% will have received their full deposit and 41% will have received a proportion of their deposit as determined by the adjudicator. In 11% of these cases landlords and letting agents have been able to withhold the total deposit.

David Salusbury, Chairman, mydeposits.co.uk, said: "After only 12 months, it is quite clear that tenancy deposit protection has clarified the rights and responsibilities of tenant, landlord and letting agent. With so few disputes actually being notified and only 20% of these requiring external adjudication, it seems that this kind of self-regulation is proving to be extremely effective.

"The risk to landlords of not complying with the legislation is considerable. Not only would a landlord appear to be totally oblivious to their legal obligations but they will receive a fine amounting up to three times the deposit. In addition, for as long as the deposit remains unprotected, a landlord faces significant limits on their ability to seek possession."