Do you use a letting/managing agent? Here’s what you should know

Not all of our member landlords are involved with every aspect of their rental properties – some prefer to use an agent to manage their properties. If you fall into this category, there is crucial information you need to bear in mind.

Our ‘Information for Landlords using an Agent to Protect Tenant Deposits’ leaflet (which should be read in conjunction with our Scheme Rules) has everything you need to know, but here are a few key pointers, for starters:

• The instruction of an agent to protect your tenant’s deposit does not absolve you from your personal responsibilities under the Housing Act 2004 – as landlord, you must personally ensure that the deposit is protected and that certain ‘Prescribed Information’ is provided to the tenant within 14 days from the date the deposit was received by your agent
• As landlord, you are always ultimately responsible for the deposit and its return to the tenant at the end of the Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) – even if you have employed an agent to act on your behalf
• It is your responsibility to ensure that the deposit is protected

Your Agent should:
• If you have appointed the agent to act on your behalf they should protect your tenant’s deposit, register the details of the AST with my|deposits and pay the necessary protection fee
• Provide your tenant with the Deposit Protection Certificate (DPC)
• If they have protected the deposit on your behalf, your agent should also give you a copy of the DPC.

NB: The DPC MUST be signed by either you as landlord or your agent

Remember that although you have an agent acting on your behalf, the acts and omissions of the agent will be treated as your acts and omissions ie you will be liable for your agent. As such, it is vitally important that you select an agent that you trust. We recommend that you conduct some financial checks into the agent, to verify that they are trustworthy and financially sound. For example, you can check whether:

• The agent holds the deposit and rent monies in a segregated ring-fenced Client Money Account – this is a requirement of agent membership to my|deposits, but you can also ask for evidence of this bank account
• The agent is a member of a letting agent association with a Client Money Bonding Scheme in place
• The agent holds client money protection insurance – if this is not in place, you will be taking a serious and costly risk with the deposit and rent monies

If you have any concerns at all about the financial security of your agent, then ask to hold the deposit yourself and take responsibility for protecting it with one of the three tenancy deposit schemes (including my|deposits!). Your agent cannot refuse.

Visit our website from more information or give us a call with any questions relating to a deposit held by your agent.

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Are you familiar with our Deposit Protection Conditions? Here’s a quick run down

For those of you just getting started in the lettings market, we thought it would be helpful to offer a quick intro into our Deposit Protection Conditions, which are detailed fully in the recently updated Scheme Rules. And even if you have been a member for a while, it’s still advisable to have a read through, just to refresh your memory or in case your situation has changed.

The most important thing to remember is that the full deposit stated in the Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) must be protected within 14 days of receipt from the tenant. So be sure to act quickly on this, so as not to incur a penalty.

When you come to protect a deposit with us, you will need to provide the following information:
• The full amount of the deposit
• The tenant’s full name
• The address of the residential property
• The period of protection – the tenancy start and end dates
• The date you received the deposit from the tenant
• Alternative address(es) for the tenant
• Full name and address of any interested party, including satisfactory evidence of payment

Remember to provide a signed copy of the Deposit Protection Certificate (DPC) to the tenant along with a copy of the “Information for Tenants” leaflet which can be found on our website.

Agents: we also recommend that you provide a copy of the Deposit Protection Certificate to your landlord clients, as they are named in the AST agreement and are ultimately responsible for protecting the deposit.

If the deposit being protected relates to a Joint Tenancy Agreement, then you will need to let us know who is to be named as the lead tenant. Always ensure that the lead tenant is authorised by all the joint tenants to accept all documentation on their behalf. You will also be required to obtain the consent of all the joint tenants before nominating the lead tenant. For more information on the specifics of joint tenancies, please see our downloadable “Joint Tenancy Information Form” or request it from our call centre.

For the full details of our Deposit Protection Conditions, read ‘Section C: Deposit Protection’.

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Students: Moving out at the end of term? Be prepared when it comes to your tenancy deposit

The summer holidays are fast approaching and thousands of students across the land will soon be vacating their flat shares and rented properties to head home until the start of the new term.

Hopefully you’ve looked after the property, and left it as it was when you moved in. For most of you moving out and getting your deposit back will be a hassle-free process, but for others it might not be quite so straightforward.

If you feel your landlord or agent has unfairly withheld deposit money, then the first thing you need to do is speak to them directly. However, if you can’t come to an agreement over the deposit amount then my|deposits updated information for tenants offers vital advice and information on what to do next.

The last port of call is my|deposits free Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) service to resolve your dispute. However both you AND your landlord must agree to the my|deposits ADR service. If either of you does not agree to this, the dispute must then be resolved through the Court.

Also, remember that you only have three months (see important information for tenants) from the actual end date of tenancy to raise a deposit dispute, so don’t put it off until the end of the holidays! Act now.

Here are a couple of other helpful pointers to bear in mind should you decide to raise a deposit dispute:

• If you have been sharing a flat with others, you will need to decide between you who is going to lead and conduct all aspects of the deposit dispute. This person will then need to obtain written authority to act on behalf of all the joint tenants in the property

• The tenant raising the dispute will also be required to agree to fairly distribute the money which is returned to him with the other joint tenants – you won’t be able to keep the money for yourself!

• Once you have notified my|deposits of a dispute you will have 10 working days in which to send in any remaining evidence either by post or email. my|deposits won’t accept evidence after this 10 day period.

• Alternatively you can always use the online service to submit all your evidence and monitor the progress of your dispute online.

my|deposits is here to help you and to make the process as simple as possible. Visit our website for more information.

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Tenants: how much do you know about your tenancy deposit?

Whether you’ve found the rental property of your dreams and are about to sign on the dotted line, or are vacating your place to head off to pastures new, can you safely say that you know enough about the rules surrounding your tenancy deposit?

To help you get to grips with all the information you need to know, we have just updated the information for tenants on our website. Our ‘Tenant’s Guide to my|deposits’ covers all matters relating to your tenancy deposit and also offers handy hints to ensure that you don’t get left short at the end of your tenancy period.

From information on how your deposit is protected and notifying us of a dispute to how to handle a dispute and the options for submitting evidence – it’s all laid out in our information pack.

So, if you are left feeling unhappy with the amount of the deposit returned by your landlord or agent at the end of your tenancy and are considering raising a dispute, simply follow the steps outlined in our guide.

We’ve also highlighted some top tips to help you through the process – here are just a few to bear in mind:
• Be sure to read through the terms of your Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) agreement before signing it and if necessary, take legal advice. Don’t get caught out by charges to pay at the end of the AST such as the inventory check or inspection fees
• Keep everything together: remember to keep a signed copy of your Deposit Protection Certificate (DPC) with your copy of the Assured Shorthold Tenancy (AST) and any other documents relating to your tenancy. You will need these in the event of a dispute at the end of the tenancy
• Remember that Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is evidence based, so the more evidence you have and the better the quality of that evidence, the more it will assist your case. Examples of signed inventories, photos, rent statement and correspondence between you and your landlord or agent will all help
• Always try to resolve your differences with your landlord/agent before involving my|deposits. We often find that many disputes can be quickly and easily resolved by simple communication between both parties

And if you have any questions at all relating to your tenancy deposit or are thinking of raising a dispute, please do contact us.

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Just what is fair wear and tear? Share your photos with us and help decide

Following the launch of our ‘Wear and Tear’ campaign on the blog a few weeks ago, we are on the hunt for real-life photos depicting the wear and tear landlords typically find at the end of a tenancy.

Wear and tear is inevitable but many landlords and tenants don’t realise landlords are not allowed to withhold deposit money for wear and tear. The aim of our campaign is to help landlords to make a fair judgment call on what is deemed ‘reasonable’ wear and tear and what is damage that a landlord can reasonably expect to withhold deposit money for.

So this is where you come in! We’re looking for your photographic examples of what you consider wear and tear, such as:

• Scuffed walls/skirting boards
• Dirty carpets
• Freezers that have never been defrosted
• …or anything else you have classified as wear and tear!

And what do you consider is most definitely not fair wear and tear?

• Iron and cigarette burn marks?
• Broken furniture?
• What else?

Simply send your photos to us here. We’ll highlight the pick of the bunch on our blog in a few weeks time.

Remember that you can still share your views on the subject of wear and tear here on the blog or on our Facebook page .

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