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New legislation for tenancy agreements

Published On 5 March 2007 at 12:49:06

A new law controlling housing deposits will be implemented from April 6th 2007 - and is predicted to affect thousands of tenants, letting agents and property landlords.

Tenancy Deposit Protection (TDP) has been designed to safeguard deposits paid on rented properties by requiring landlords and agents to protect them in a government authorised scheme. Moreover, in the event of a dispute the TDP will also provide free independent adjudication.

There will be two types of scheme - an insurance based scheme and a custodial scheme - which the landlord can choose from. The Alternative Dispute Resolution service (ADR), provided by both schemes, can be used to settle any disagreements.

Baroness Andrews, minister for housing, said: "Many people have lost their deposits due to various reasons. We often hear stories of landlords and agents taking advantage of tenants and refusing to refund deposits.

"Sometimes tenants are not aware of their rights so we are highlighting the schemes to help prevent this from happening.

"At the same time the scheme also provides landlords with a secure way of ensuring deposits are safeguarded by encouraging clear inventories and agreements prior to the payment of the deposit and a free arbitration service to deal with any disputes."

 

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