A new tenancy deposit protection scheme for private sector landlords is launched this week by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme in association with the Residential Landlords Association.
Until now, the TDS, which says it already protects £1bn worth of deposits – more than either of the other two schemes – has been available primarily to regulated letting agents. The TDS was originally launched by the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA), subsequently getting backing from other bodies including the National Association of Estate Agents and RICS.
But now a new scheme is to be marketed by the rapidly expanding RLA as DepositGuard.
Going head to head with mydeposits – the deposit protection scheme launched by RLA competitor the National Landlords Association – it is claimed that DepositGuard will ‘substantially’ undercut it.
The scheme, like mydeposits, is available on a pay-as-you-go basis. There will be no annual subscriptions or joining fees.
Steve Harriott, chief executive of the TDS, said: “TDS has been the scheme of choice for regulated letting agents for some time, but we are delighted to be able to offer deposit protection directly to landlords.
“Landlords can save time and money by keeping hold of the deposit – as well as taking advantage of market-leading rates.”
RLA chairman Alan Ward said: “DepositGuard enables us to offer competitive deposit protection without compromising our position in representing landlords’ interests. The systems and documentation are also ready for changes being introduced by the Government in April and are designed to give better protection to landlords.”
DepositGuard is an insurance-backed scheme. It permits landlords to hold deposits throughout a tenancy and to use the dispute resolution service.
www.rla.org.uk/depositguard and www.tds.gb.com
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