Landlords 'don't need to give up control of deposits'

Anyone with property to rent in London or any other region in the UK does not now have to give up control of deposits from their tenants, it has emerged.

Landlords are now obliged by legislation to ensure that their tenant deposits are protected but this does not have to mean relinquishing control of these funds, mydeposits.co.uk has explained.

The organisation has made clear that by using its insurance-based tenancy deposit protection scheme, landlords can avoid the need to use a third party group to protect their tenants' cash.

Explaining the consequences for landlords of not protecting deposits, mydeposits.co.uk's chairman David Salusbury said: "They could be forced to pay a fine of up to three times the deposit amount and limits will be placed on their ability to seek possession for as long as the deposit remains unprotected."

In addition to being authorised by the Department for Communities and Local Government, mydeposits.co.uk is officially sponsored by the National Landlords Association.

News posted on 30th May, 2008