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Legislation capping tenants’ deposits has led to a festive bonus for some tenants in the UK. Now that deposits are capped at five weeks’ worth of rent, tenants are receiving a rebate when they come to renew their tenancy.
Tenants Receive Christmas Deposit Rebates
Data published by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme has revealed that some tenants have had large sums of money returned with one tenant receiving more than £3,000 back.
“We reviewed data from when the legislation was first introduced in order to establish how frequently deposits are being partially repaid by agents or landlords,” says Debbie Davis from the TDS.
More than 2,500 repayments have been made to tenants since the deposit cap legislation was introduced. The average repayment was £320, but the largest was £3,385.
Deposit Cap Scheme Hailed a Success
The government has hailed the legislation a big success and says it is working as intended.
Deposit caps came into effect in June. Landlords and letting agents can no longer charge what they like as a deposit, which means they can’t charge extra to cover potential damage from pets. Landlords and letting agents can also no longer charge extra fees for reference checks, contract renewals, and other arbitrary costs, as these, too, have been banned. Experts said these typically added an extra £300 to a tenant’s costs when they moved into a home in the private rental sector.
However, these extra “costs” have not gone away, so it is highly likely landlords are merely increasing their rents to cover ensure their profit margins remain the same.
Have any of your tenants received a deposit rebate in time for Christmas? If so, were they delighted?
