How safe is your tenancy deposit? Basically if it is protected in a scheme it is safe, if it is not protected, it may not be. From 7 April 2007 all tenancy deposits for assured shorthold tenancies have to be protected in a government authorised tenancy deposit scheme. There are three tenancy deposit schemes: The…
There is a very interesting post over on the Estate Agent Today news web-site. It seems that back in November 2009 they asked a number of questions of the Communities and Local Government (CLG) department (whose remit covers the tenancy deposit scheme) about the workings of the scheme. After two reminders and three months later,…
Last year I reported that the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) run by the Dispute Service had announced that they were going to increase their fees. They have now announced what these are. Or rather they haven’t, because the fees information page tells us that all TDS members fees are going to be calculated individually now,…
Further to my previous post here about the increases in TDS fees due next year, I have just seen this post here on This is Money, which claims that TDS “has slashed its team of adjudicators from 70 to 12“. This does seem to be a very great reduction and one hopes that it does…
No sooner do I create a comparison document showing the different fee structures of the three tenancy deposit schemes (which you can download from here) than we learn that the tenancy deposit scheme run by the Dispute Service (TDS) is to increase its fees! The reason, according to the press release from the Dispute Service…
The Dispute Service have published their annual report, which could initially be downloaded from their web-site, although since first writing this post, the report appears to have gone offline, and it makes interesting reading. I list below the points which struck me. Generally it looks as if the service has been under some strain during the…
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Tenancy Deposit Scheme charges – an update
Tenancy Deposit Scheme As everyone involved in the private rented sector should be aware, tenancy deposits taken for assured shorthold tenancies now need to be protected with a government approved tenancy deposit scheme. All schemes are required to provide a free arbitration service, in the event of a dispute regarding deductions from the deposit at…