After all the complaints made by and on behalf of tenants regarding landlord failures to return deposits to tenants, it is ironic that the DPS in a recent report, states that over 8,000 deposits remain with them, unclaimed by their owners. The DPS, remember, is the tenancy deposit scheme where the deposit money is actually handed over to the scheme administrators to keep safe for tenants during the tenancy.
The problem is, it seems, that tenants are not keeping the DPS up to date with their contact details. In particular when they leave the property. So when the deposit becomes available to pay over to them, the DPS have no way of letting them know.
In order to make things easier, the DPS are now looking to introduce new rules requiring the landlord to provide an email and/or mobile phone number for the lead tenant. They are also hoping to introduce text messaging next year, so tenants can be texted when the deposit is available.
In the meantime, if you are one of the 8,000 who have gone off without collecting your deposit – contact the DPS. They are waiting to pay you.
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DPS certainly asked for email, phone and forwarding address from us when we as landlords tried to claim the deposit due to rent arrears and damages. They say they will contact the tenant. After 2 weeks we heard nothing and then followed their instructions to get a solicitor to sign all our evidence entirely at our expense and submit it to them. Its not clear if I can claim this from the deposit which I feel I should be able due to the apathy of the tenant as confirmed above. But in my case 1/2 the deposit is I believe lawfully mine and I’m still waiting for a reply as the sight does not specify how long they will take to review the evidence. As I have said on the previous blog update… the tenancy deposits are a law unto themselves and the question raised regarding their T&C not being legally binding proves that. Why can’t their be one body to hold a bond and resolve disputes governed by law and not T&C’s. I shouldn’t have to make a commercial choice over the deposit. I’m a landlord, not a business woman. I don’t want this silent partner which is forced on us in the relationship.