How many TDS Deposit Protection Insurances are no longer valid?

We have posted a blog to try and clarify some of the points raised, which you can read here: http://blog.tds.gb.com/blog/renewing-deposit-protection-and-issuing-prescribed-information/

Members of TDS do not need to be concerned about deposit protection unknowingly coming to an end. If you are a pay-as-you-go landlord member both you and your tenant receive several reminders in advance telling you what to do. If you renew on a statutory periodic basis, you are not charged.

If you are a letting agent with annual membership, your deposits remain protected until you remove them from the database.

That does not address the issue at hand here as we are not talking about renewals we are talking about periodic tenancies. This appears to be symptomatic of the information that comes from MyDeposits, either you fail to understand the question or deliberately avoid the issue?! You posted three days ago on the other article referred to here that no action was needed if a tenancy turned periodic yet in Novemeber your stated to members that it was. The whole issue is far from clear and you will be responsible for many Landlords problems if it is not clarified properly.

Apologies if this has caused confusion.

To confirm: my|deposits members are not compelled to notify us if the fixed-term AST reverts to an SPT.

However, members have been alerted to changes to their online accounts -and this should be the email to which you refer, Ray.

The changes allow members to manage their tenancies and deposits online and make it easier, among other things, to renew a tenancy.

The changes do also allow members to update the status of existing tenancies - for example to confirm if the tenancy has come to an end or if it has reverted to an SPT.

my|deposits would always recommend that members update the status of their tenancies if the need arises however, the tenancy will remain protected regardless.

Hi, thanks for the prompt reply however there remains some confusion. Your recent email to members advises them that the deposit may (We need to assume that means 'Will' for safety) be automatically unprotected if the member does not advise you and update your system that the tenancy is now periodic. Given that you have just advised in the post above that members are not compelled to notify you of such a change, what would happen and how would you respond if such a deposit had become unprotected. You reaaly do need to clarify whetehr the changes you have introduced are compulsory or just to 'assist' your members keep track of things. Do you intend sending out a further formal clarification to your members as this forum cannot really be used for that purpose?

I am so glad that you have posted MyDeposits, I had drafted a reply but I was waiting to see if you would come back on this first.
I knew that my deposits were safe with MyDeposits that they were protected until I unprotected them and that I had no need to do anything other than meet the legal requirements when I first take a deposit but my saying this would not have carriied the same weight.
I think that the confusion has come from the fact that MyDeposits are trying to reduce the time it takes to protect a deposit once a property is registered or re-protect a deposit when a new AST is given. I am really pleased with these changes and its a pity that they have been mixed up with the HUGE issue that TDS has caused by cancelling deposit protection at the end of a fixed term AST.
Thank you for confirming that my decision to use MyDeposits is a good one. Saving a few pennies has never been more important to me than getting it right for myself and for my tenants. All your landlords and agents can now enjoy their Christmas and New Year without worrying about deposit protection legislation biting them on the botty.
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I along with many other mydeposits members was unaware that it is a 'recommendation' of yours to update the status of a tenancy if there have been changes like AST to SPT.

Now clearly most LL would conform to such recommendation.

It is clearly of great relief to know it is NOT a requirement of yours to reprotect again in the event of a SPT.

We do of course appreciate when a deposit needs to be reprotected.

I think perhaps your 'recommendation' is more an opportunity to engage with the LL to confirm there have been NO changes.

This gives you opportunity to advise the LL of what is actually required.

I see your recommendation more as an audit process by you to assist LL.

I think you are working on the better safe than sorry principle and that I do not consider unwise
Consequently I will be reviewing my DPC statuses and advising of SPT's if appropriate..

We've posted a blog article to try and answer a few questions which people have:

http://blog.tds.gb.com/blog/renewing-deposit-protection-and-issuing-prescribed-information/

I think there may be some confusion here between TDS Landlord membership and Agent membership. Agent Members and their landlords don't need any reminders because the deposit remains protected until the agent removes it. The majority of our Landlord Members will not have received any reminders of the end of fixed term AST's yet because our Landlord scheme only launched in 2012.

Apologies for any confusion - our original response only referred to Landlord Membership procedure because the question which sparked this discussion came from a landlord registering their own deposits. If using TDS they therefore would have Landlord Membership.

Do deposits need to be re-protected when a fixed term AST
becomes SPT.

This is what the legislation says (Housing Act 2004 Section 213)

(1)Any tenancy deposit paid to a person in connection with a shorthold tenancy must, as from the time when it is received, be dealt with in accordance with an authorised scheme.

(3)Where a landlord receives a tenancy deposit in connection with a shorthold tenancy, the
initial requirements of an authorised scheme must be complied with by the landlord in relation to the deposit within the period of 30 days (amended in April 2012 via Localism Act 2011) beginning with the date on which it is received.

(4)For the purposes of this section “the initial requirements” of an authorised scheme are such requirements imposed by the scheme as fall to be complied with by a landlord on receiving such a tenancy deposit.

----------------------------------------------

Unless someone can point me to other legislation my understanding of this is

I must

·
The relevant date for protection of the deposit is “as from the time when it is received” since
the deposit for a Statutory Periodic Tenancy was “received” at the start of the first Fixed Term Tenancy nothing changes when the SPT begins. NOTE A new tenancy that begins as a Periodic Tenancy must be treated in the same way as a Fixed Term Tenancy.

·
I have 30 days from the relevant date in which to protect the deposit in an authorised scheme of my
choice

·
I must comply with the “initial requirements” of the scheme that I have chosen to use

·
I must give my tenants, and any third party who has provided the deposit, The Deposit Protection Certificate and Prescribed Information provided by the scheme” within the period of 30 days” of the relevant date.

I do not need to

·
Protect my deposits again after the initial protection is in place unless this is a, “initial requirement” of the scheme.

·
The scheme that I use is MyDeposits and the scheme only requires me to put a new protection in place when I issue a new AST (Fixed Term or Periodic) or make a substantial change(s) to the original AST.

·
My deposits remain protected until I unprotect them and at that point the scheme would notify my tenants and therefore I don’t need to do anything more to meet legislation even when a fixed term AST ends and the tenancy continues as a Statutory Periodic Tenancy.

·
It would seem that TDS changed its “initial requirements” in January 2012 and that they now need to be notified when a Fixed Term AST comes to an end and continues as Statutory Periodic Tenancy in addition to requiring a new protection to be put in place when a new AST is issued. I understand that there is no charge for this but a new Protection Certificate will be issued and this must be given to the tenant along with the Prescribed Information again.TDS email the landlord/agent well before the end date of the Fixed Term to remind them but if the record is not updated the deposit protection will end on the end date of the Fixed Term.

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@Mary,.

You may have missed this in the confusion Mary (and MyDeposits have not yet cleared it up) but MyDeposits have also recently (November) notified members that they MUST notify them when a tenancy turns SPT. They have advised that the depsosit may (Assume will) be automatically unprotected if the landlord does not do this. As you have pointed out above, the legislation says "(1)Any tenancy deposit paid to a person in connection with a shorthold
tenancy must, as from the time when it is received, be dealt with in
accordance with an authorised scheme." So if MyDeposits say we must do this then we must. However they have posted on this thread that it is not required. I asked them specific questions which they have not yet answered. And of course I am sure any comment they post on here will not be overridden by the notices they send out formally to their members (Thats you and me). So what we need from MyDeposits is a formal clarification through their official channels to all members.

@Ray MyDeposits have made changes to their system to help members to protect a deposit more quickly. The record of the deposit can be retrieved and updated with either a change of status, ie from Fixed Term to SPT or with new details to begin an new protection for a new tenant or a new fixed term for the exisiting tenant. This was done at the suggestion of NLA Reps to help landlords to save time, it does not mean that a deposit is not protected if the record is not updated. The deposit remains protected until it is unprotected.
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