WHAT IS THE TENANT DEPOSIT SCHEME?
Compliant with the law your deposit is safeguarded by an independent rental deposit scheme called the TDS
The Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) is a government approved scheme for the protection of tenancy deposits. TDS offers both Insured and Custodial protection and provides fair adjudication for disputes that arise over the tenancy deposits that we protect.
TDS Insured Scheme: where a TDS member (such as an agent or landlord) can hold the tenancy deposits as stakeholder during the term of the tenancy.
TDS Custodial Scheme: where the TDS themselves hold the deposit money during the tenancy.
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE DEPOSIT AFTER THE LANDLORD OR AGENT RECEIVES IT?
The Landlord or the Agent will hold the deposit during the tenancy. The Tenancy Agreement should state who receives any interest it makes.
DEPOSIT RETURNS
- If there is no dispute we will keep any amounts agreed as deductions where expenditure has been incurred on behalf of the Landlord or repay the whole or the balance of the Deposit according to the conditions of the Tenancy Agreement. Payment of the Deposit will be made within 10 working days of written consent from both parties.
- If, after 10 working days following notification of a dispute to us and reasonable attempts during that time to resolve any differences of opinion, there remains an unresolved dispute between the Landlord and the Tenant over the allocation of the deposit it can then (subject to the paragraph below) be submitted to the TDS for adjudication.
- Once all parties agree to co-operate with any adjudication they accept responsibility for raising the dispute with the TDS. Alternatively, BIG-Property reserve the right to charge an administration fee of £75.00 + VAT for submitting the dispute on the Landlord’s behalf.
- When the amount in dispute is over £5,000 the Landlord and the Tenant will agree by signing the Tenancy Agreement to submit the dispute to formal arbitration through the engagement of an arbitrator appointed by the TDS although, with the written consent of both parties, ICE (Independent Complaints Examiner) may at his discretion accept the dispute for adjudication. The appointment of an arbitrator will incur an administration fee, to be fixed by the board of The Dispute Service Ltd from time to time, shared equally between the Landlord and the Tenant. The liability for any subsequent costs will be dependent upon the award made by the arbitrator.
The statutory rights of either the Landlord or the Tenant(s) to take legal action against the other party remain unaffected.
It is not compulsory for the parties to refer the dispute to the TDS for adjudication. The parties may, if either party chooses to do so, seek the decision of the court. However, this process may take longer and may incur further costs. If the parties do agree that the dispute should be resolved by ICE, they must accept the decision of ICE as final and binding. If there is a dispute the stakeholder must remit to the TDS the full deposit, less any amounts already agreed by the parties and paid over to them. This must be done within 10 working days of being told that a dispute has been registered whether you or we want to contest it.
We must co-operate with ICE in the adjudication of the dispute and follow any recommendations concerning the method of the resolution of the dispute.
We cannot help you to resolve any dispute over the return of the deposit other than following the above steps.
Email: info@big-property.co.uk
