From 6th April 2007 legislation was introduced to ensure that every tenant's deposit must be covered by a Tenancy Deposit Scheme where the property is let on an Assured Shorthold Tenancy.

We as a company have chosen to become members of The Dispute Service Ltd, which is an insurance based scheme supported by the Letting Industries regulatory bodies ARLA (Association of Residential Letting Agents) NAEA (The National Association of Estate Agents) and NALS (The National Approved Letting Scheme).

If you use our Management or Rent Collection service it is not our intention to charge you any extra fees to cover our additional costs. However, we will now have to keep deposits on all properties using these services unless we are provided with written confirmation that you as a landlord are a member of a recognised scheme.

Even if you are only using our Let Only service, your tenants deposit still has to be covered through one of the schemes available. If you choose an insured scheme then the cost for registration starts from around £95.00 unless you are a member of a Landlords Trade Association which will entitle you to a discount. We however are proposing to offer our Let Only landlords the opportunity for us to hold the deposits for them as an accredited agent for £20.00 plus VAT per tenancy per year.

The alternative is a Custodial scheme where the money is held by the 'Deposit Protection Scheme' throughout the tenancy and at the end of the tenancy if the landlord and tenant agree how the deposit should be repaid, they both have to advise the scheme administrator who will then make the agreed payments. As with all Tenancy Deposit Schemes, in the event of a dispute, an independent arbitrator will be appointed to make a decision.

Landlords should be aware that whatever scheme is chosen the tenant must be notified of where their deposit is being held within 14 days. Obviously, we will deal with any notification to the tenants as part of our service when we are holding the deposit.

This legislation applies to all new tenancies from 6th April 2007 including the renewal of any existing tenancy after that date.

Failure to comply with the legislation will result in a penalty fine of up to three times the deposit. In addition, any Section 21 Notices Requiring Possession served will not be valid.

Further information about the scheme we have joined can be found on the website www.tds.gb.com

Alternatively, should you have any particular queries in regards to your own tenancy arrangements, please call your local branch.