TDS – protecting your deposit

When tenancies come to an end there is usually no disagreement about the return of the deposit.  However, sometimes there is, which can cause much hardship and inconvenience to both landlords and tenants.

The Tenancy Deposit Scheme has been established under the Housing Act 2004. It requires landlords to register details of the start and end of all Assured Shorthold Tenancies on which they take a deposit. The Dispute Service (TDS) runs this particular scheme and is required to supply summarised details of all tenancies to [the Department of] Communities and Local Government (CLG).

The Tenancy Deposit Scheme gives you three key benefits:

1 Your deposit is fully protected and insured

2  Your deposit is returned promptly at the end of the tenancy, where there is no dispute.

3 Where there is a dispute about the deposit at the end of the tenancy, ensure it is dealt with fairly and quickly by the Independent Complaints Examiner (ICE)