The ratio of deposit disputes in England & Wales is just over 1% according to official figures released by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
The Government figures show that of the seven million deposits (7,052,255) that have been protected since the launch of the legislation in 2007, only 91,802 have ended up requiring formal dispute adjudication – just 1.3%.
While some critics will wonder whether such hefty legislation was really worth it to crack such a minority problem, there have been relatively few complaints about deposit protection itself.
A total of 10,657 complaints about deposit protection and the service provided have been made to all three of the approved schemes in that time – equating to just under 1,800 complaints a year.
The figures were calculated by combining information provided by my|deposits, The Deposit Protection Service and The Dispute Service.
Eddie Hooker, chief executive of my|deposits, launched by the National Landlords Association, said: “Tenancy deposit protection was introduced to protect the tenant’s money so it is extremely encouraging to learn that only one per cent of tenants experience issues over the return of their deposit which they cannot sort out without the help of the schemes.
“It’s good news for tenants, as it shows the vast majority are happy with the return of their deposit at the end of the tenancy. It also shows that the relationship between landlord/agent and tenant is improving.”
The official government figures also show that the total number of deposits protected last year stood at 2,659,301, worth £2.6bn.
Comments
Of course the numbers are low as I tried their arbitration and they were a shambles and gave money back for damage caused despite a specific clause in the AST.
I dont bother now and get the dispute solved through the courts. This takes it away from the schemes and of course makes us agents look good at what we do. Got no problem with that.
What isn't taken into account is the number of times the agent "pays off" the tenant to avoid the matter becoming a dispute with the tenancy deposit providers. We do this, and are aware of other agents who also do.
Typically, amounts under £300, and sometimes more, are eventually just paid off by the agent to avoid the work and cost involved in a dispute.
Over the longer term, the tenant market is bound to realise what is going on... and take full advantage.
Result: more operating costs to agents = higher fee charges.