D-DAY, otherwise known as Deposit Day for Protection of Tenants’ Deposits, is on Good Friday when landlords and tenants can benefit from legislation that will apply to deposits held against Assured Shorthold Tenancies (ASTs).

High value lets of more than £25,000 pa, company lets and resident landlord lets will not be covered by the legislation.

Tenancy Deposit Protection will ensure deposits taken by landlords for ASTs are placed in a tenancy protection scheme within 14 days of payment.

The scheme has been introduced to enforce good practice in deposit handling and clear agreements on a rented property’s condition at the end of a tenancy.

The law allows for three schemes – one custodial scheme and two insured. The custodial scheme is a Government scheme run and operated by Computershare which is open to all landlords and agents; within 14 days of the start of the tenancy the deposit must be forwarded to the scheme and the money will be held safely until the end of the tenancy when both parties need to agree on its distribution.

Any dispute will be dealt with through alternative dispute resolution (ADR).

Landlords and agents who object to a third party holding the deposit can use one of the ‘insured’ schemes.

Ashton Burkinshaw, a leading residential letting company, is a founder member of the TDS (Tenancy Deposit Scheme), an ‘insured" scheme administered by the Dispute Service. The TDS is open to all, landlords or agents.

Some landlords have, historically, held the deposits themselves and for these there will be a change.

The TDS has announced subscriptions for individual landlords to join the scheme in their own right, i.e. not through an agent.

Those who are members of trade associations will pay £44 plus VAT for each property per annum. Annual subscription per property for unaffiliated landlords will be £95 plus VAT for each property.

The NLA (National Landlords Association) has created its own insured scheme which landlords can join for a membership fee that will also cover an insurance premium. The fees for this scheme have not yet been made public.

The service provided by these three authorised deposit protection schemes is free to tenants.

* For more details visit www.aboutletting.co.uk