As part of the Housing Act 2004 the Government introduced a tenancy deposit protection scheme for all assured shorthold tenancies in England and Wales where a deposit is taken. All deposits paid under an AST should be protected within 14 calendar days of receipt by the landlord or their agents. The legislation aims to ensure fair play between landlords and tenants with regards to the handling and repayment of deposits.
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The legislation covers virtually all new AST contracts through which private landlords let property in England and Wales.
However, the following will not need to be registered with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme:
✔ Resident landlords (those living in the property)
✔ Landlords of tenancies with rent of over £100,000 a year
✔ Company lets
✔ Student accom’ let directly by universities or colleges.
Deposits taken before 6 April 2007 do not need to be protected by a scheme such as TDS. However, if an existing tenancy is renewed and a landlord agrees a new fixed-term tenancy, the initial deposit taken must then be lodged with a tenancy deposit protection scheme.
At Expat-Lettings our scheme of choice is the Deposit Protection Service, full details should you wish to discover more can be found at https://www.depositprotection.com