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A new 'Guide to Tenancy
Deposits, Disputes and Damages' has been jointly published by all
three government authorised tenancy deposit protection schemes today.
Since 2007 some 47,000 disputes have been settled by the schemes'
alternative dispute resolution processes. The pooling of information
on these disputes and their eventual outcomes has allowed the schemes
to identify common issues and to work together to publish collective
guidelines.
The guide covers items,
such as the collation of evidence and what an adjudicator looks for
when considering a dispute, and outlines the principles on which
scheme adjudicators make decisions so that the process is consistent
and transparent for letting agent, landlord and tenant alike.
Eddie Hooker, CEO of
my|deposits, commented: "Whilst we are all competitors in the
market, we do not compete on how we operate our dispute resolution
services. It is right that all schemes follow the same principles and
standards when dealing with deposit issues. Landlords and tenants
should be able to understand the processes regardless of which scheme
they use and expect a fair outcome to their dispute.
Kevin Firth, Director
of The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS), the custodial scheme,
added: This guide represents a significant benefit for tenants,
landlords and letting agents and is another example of how tenancy
deposit legislation has acted to improve standards in the lettings
industry. Everyone can get hold of a copy for free and understand for
themselves how disputes are adjudicated, potentially helping them
avoid these situations in the future.
And Steve Harriott,
Chief Executive of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) continued: Im
delighted to see this joint approach between the schemes we all
follow consistent principles and it is only right that tenants and
landlords get a uniform explanation of the approach taken,
irrespective of which scheme they contact.
The guide, which will
be available to download from each scheme's website from today, also
discusses issues such as how to avoid disputes in the first place,
the types of evidence accepted by adjudicators and how to deal with
common problems such as wear and tear.
This is the first time
all three schemes have worked together to publish educational
information which is aimed at landlords, agents and tenants alike.
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