Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme - do I need to comply?

ET1976

DVardysShadow wrote: »

There is no requirement to pay interest afaik, but legally it is their money, so lenient rent or not ...

not following you. am I doing something wrong?

I have read a book on letting and done lots of research on the web before I took it on and don't recall needing to pay interest on the deposit.

I thought I had done everything by the book.

DVardysShadow

ET1976 wrote: »

not following you. am I doing something wrong?

I have read a book on letting and done lots of research on the web before I took it on and don't recall needing to pay interest on the deposit.

I thought I had done everything by the book.

You probably have and by coming here, you are intent on keeping up. I don't think you are doing anything wrong - just that if the money belongs to the tenant, why should the LL make interest on it?

clutton_2

as a LL of 10 years i am seriously thinking about not taking deposits in the future

i lost one from a DPS adjudicator who simply did not know the law

today i talked to Mydeposits who tell me that the deposit is only for dilapidations/repairs and not for un-paid rent - words fail me - really fail me -


i'll call again tomorrow and ask for a super viser and see if i can get the real answer to this

so to OP - if you dont have to use a deposit protection service - dont - but do keep assiduous records of all repairs issues

The interest money belongs to whoever gets the deposit - why should a tenant who loses the deposit for repairs be given interest on a sum which is not theirs ??? I have had interest from DPS from a deposit of a tenant who absconded

puddy

i dont really know the ins and outs of this but i thouht unpaid rent was dealt with my court or something rather than the deposit

MissMoneypenny

clutton wrote: »

today i talked to Mydeposits who tell me that the deposit is only for dilapidations/repairs and not for un-paid rent - words fail me - really fail me -

Shelter told me that the other year. Deposits are for dilapidations. Claims for unpaid rent has to be in the courts.

I have tried telling people on here that before, but nobody listens to me.

DawnW

As a LL of a mere 18 months, I think that renting property out is a complete waste of time and a load of hassle for nothing much. Especially if Clutton, who is so experienced, is having problems!

My tenants are OK, after a few initial hiccups and having to spell out that the rent actually does have to be paid; but if and when they leave, I will leave the place empty rather than go through all the hassle of renting it out again, with all the conditions and legislation that keeps continually coming in, and the continual changes of goalposts. Perhaps I am lucky - I do have a mortgage on the house, but only small and I have a good job, so could pay it off soon if I chose to, and made a bit more of an effort.

The way things are going, I think there will end up being a shortage of private rented accommodation - or at least the legal sort, anyway - the unscrupulous ones will just carry on anyway.

clutton_2

""I think that renting property out is a complete waste of time and a load of hassle for nothing much.""

renting property is a long long term investment vehicle - most investors, if they are honest, will be mainly relying on the capital growth of the property market for their big profits when they finally sell (less capital gains tax of course)

clutton_2

""Shelter told me that the other year. Deposits are for dilapidations. Claims for unpaid rent has to be in the courts.""

Sorry to disagree with you , but landlords are able to use a deposit for unpaid rent MissMP - a deposit is usually held for "breaches" of the tenancy - not paying the rent is a breach.

If there is a clause in the AST specifying the deposit's use, that would make it even more crystal clear.

The National Landlords Association is quite clear that unpaid rent is a legitimate deduction. Taking a tenant to court for unpaid rent become necessary when the Deposit is not enough to cover both damages and rent

DVardysShadow

MissMoneypenny wrote: »

Shelter told me that the other year. Deposits are for dilapidations. Claims for unpaid rent has to be in the courts.

I have tried telling people on here that before, but nobody listens to me.

I think that this one is quite a bolt of lightning, if true. So much so, that it really needs a reference to where this comes from. Shelter, while well meaning is not an authority - but are they justifying this statement?