The new internet-only service makes tenancy deposit protection cheap

Posted under Advice by Alan

The UK’s Government-approved tenancy deposit protection scheme has introduced an internet-only service for the landlords for hassle free deposits.

The landlords would also benefit from reduced fees since the administrative costs of new service ‘mydeposits lite’ are comparatively much lower.

The landlords would not be required to hand over tenant’s deposit to a third party; instead they could pay just £17.50 fees including VAT and protect deposits up to £300 with ‘mydeposits.co.uk’ website. The website enables them to keep hold of their deposit amounts.

Since April 2007, it is mandatory for all landlords in Wales and England to protect their tenants’ deposits with a Government-approved scheme.

Chairman of the ‘mydeposits.co.uk’, David Salusbury, welcomed the launch of mydeposits lite saying that tenancy deposit protection is an essential part of a landlords’ legal responsibilities and the ‘mydeposits lite’ service will eliminate the need to hand over their deposits to a third party. He highlighted the fact that as it is an internet-only service, landlords would spend very little time in registering deposits. He also explained that low administrative costs of the service allowed mydeposits.co.uk to pass savings on to the landlords.

Landlords in England and Wales have been cautioned that failure to comply with the legislation would bring restrictions on their right to seek possession and they would be forced to shed compensation to the tenant three times the deposit amount.

On a similar note, places like London have a high ratio of letters and a good way to ensure a deposit is returned is to leave the property as it was when you arrived. Take notes of any problems you see when you arrive and have your landlord sign to agree.  You should also ensure you clean the property, utilising a service for end of tenancy cleaning in London for example ensures everywhere is left spic and span.

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