Under the new housing act, all deposits taken by landlords for Assured Shorthold Tenancies must be protected by a tenancy deposit protection scheme
. Tenants and landlords are both advised to make a detailed inventory of the contents and condition of the rental property. The property inventory report can be used to validate whether or not a tenant is entitled to a full or partial return of a deposit.
A property inventory is a binding legal document that provides an accurate written record of the condition and contents of a property at the beginning of a tenancy. However it is only deemed to be effective if it is accurate. Employing the services of a professionally, independent inventory company to will avoid the risk of biased or wrong reporting. Without an accurate inventory, a landlord has no evidence to prove that the property that has been let has been neglected or abused in any way, and therefore has no natural legal recourse to withhold monies lodged as a deposit.
The is a growing need for a reliable national inventory management service that landlords and letting agents could really depend upon. The amendments made to the Housing Act on 6 April 2007 triggered a further demand for companies capable of delivering a truly independent inventory management service.
If a landlord fails to comply with new legislation by not protecting the tenants deposit the landlord is unable to regain possession of the property using the usual Section 21 notice, if the deposit has not been safeguarded and the prescribed information passed onto the tenant within 14 days of the landlord receiving it.
Tenants can apply for a court order requiring the deposit to be safeguarded or the prescribed information to be given to him about the scheme in which the deposit is safeguarded.
Where the court believes that the landlord has failed to comply with these requirements, or the deposit is not being held in an authorised scheme, the court must either order the landlord within 14 days of the order being made, to repay the deposit.