Do you rent your home? It’s the time of year when many people, particularly students, are reaching the end of their yearly tenancy contracts. As someone who has only been out of university for a couple of years and continues to rent his home, I know full well the yearly wrangles that can occur when it comes to getting your deposit back.
In April 2007, the government introduced a welcome protection for renters in the form of the Tenancy Deposit Protection (TDP) scheme, which meant that all deposits for assured shorthold tenancies were put into an authorised deposit scheme. This had two main aims; one to ensure that a tenant gets their deposit in a timely fashion when they are entitled; and secondly to assist with any disputes through an alternative dispute resolution service.
People like me saw this as a godsend. I, like many, had previously waited months while landlords made a variety of excuses for taking chunks out of mine and my flatmates’ deposits, if they agreed to pay it back at all. We might have been four ‘lads’ in student digs, but it wasn’t a problem reserved for us; many of our student friends suffered the same. In fact, despite the introduction of the government’s deposit scheme, many people I know have still found difficulties of this sort in the last three years.
Unfortunately, the majority of renters aren’t fully aware of their rights when it comes to dealing with these sorts of disputes, and a number of landlords are still taking full advantage of this. Here are a couple of links that should be able to help if you’re unsure of what procedures to follow.
• If you have paid your deposit before 6 April 2007, Advice.co.uk has this excellent step-by-step guide to the procedures you should take to claim back what you’re owed.• If, however, you paid your deposit after this date, your deposit should, by law, be held in the TDP scheme. Information about your entitlements and who to contact can be found through this Communities and Local Government leaflet.
Have you had trouble getting your deposit back from a landlord or letting agent? Or are you a landlord that has lost out as a result of the rule changes in recent years? Either way, we want to hear from you. Just comment below or email me at Stephen.jones@confused.com to share your experiences.
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