Tenancy Deposit Protection

[koster]

I began a tenancy on 1st July.

My landlady informed me that under new government rules that came in in April, we have to pay a fee for deposit protection.

I am one of three tenants in a shared house. One tenant started his contract before April, and therefore a �30 deposit protect fee is to be shared between two of us.

The scheme that the landlord has joined is "Tenancy Deposit Solutions".

I have looked at their website (http://www.mydeposits.co.uk/) and it sounds like this fee should be paid by the landlord, not us. Furthermore, there seems to be an alternative scheme (the custodial scheme) which wouldn't cost anything and would even mean I might get a small amount of interest on the deposit at the end of the tenancy.

�15 is a small amount to quibble over, but it does seem bizarre that a government idea designed to protect tenants ends up costing me more.

I asked my landlady why she hadn't chosen the custodial scheme and she said that she had chosen the Tenancy Deposit Solutions scheme for all her houses and was unable to change for an individual house.

Any advice much appreciated.

[Hawkwalk]

http://england.shelter.org.uk/advice/advice-75 07.cfm?r=gaw&WT.srch=1#wipLive-29663-4

take a look here for some more info.

Reading this I think your landlady is responsible for protecting your deposit and it is her who has to pay for this scheme and not you. You can ask the CAB for further advice if you cant find what you need here.

[Hawkwalk]

http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=115 2035

good info here too.

[Dassie]

The question is "Who is holding your deposit? The Landlord, or did you go through an Agent? The idea behind the scheme is to protect your deposit therefore whoever is holding it should be paying the fee. If your rental agreement ,which is a legal document ,does not mention that you have to pay this fee, especially if the Landlord new about it months ago, then tell your Landlord it is not your responsibility. End of story.

[Dassie]

Sorry, that should have read "knew about it" and not "new"

[koster]

I got an email back from the Guild of Residential Landlords, which says that they are entitled to charge this fee.

[themas]

The website is quite clear - the landlord pays the fee to the deposit protection outfit, but I can't find anything saying that it cannot be passed on for the tenant to pay. So, if your landlady put something in the tenancy agreement you signed saying you had to pay the fee, then you have to. Otherwise you don't.