Brian Smith Property Management.
Property Rental - Information for Prospective Landlords and Tenants
That gives you Peace of Mind
The tenancy deposit
We are a member of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, which is administered by:
The Dispute Service Ltd , PO Box 541, Amersham, Bucks. HP6 6ZR
Phone: 0845 226 7837. Email: deposits@tds.gb.com Fax: 01494 431 123
1. If we are/ the Agent is instructed by you/the Landlord to hold the Deposit,
we/ the Agent shall do so under the terms of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme.
2. If you/the Landlord decide to hold the Deposit yourself, we will transfer it to you within 5 days of receiving it.
You/the Landlord must then register it with another Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme within a further 9 days if the
Tenancy is an Assured Shorthold Tenancy. If you fail to do so the Tenant can take legal action against you/the Landlord
in the County Court. The Court will make an order stating that you/the Landlord must pay the Deposit back to the Tenant
or lodge it with the custodial scheme which is known as the Deposit Protection Scheme. In addition a further order will
be made requiring you/the Landlord to pay compensation to the Tenant of an amount equal to three times the Deposit.
You/the Landlord will be unable to serve a Section 21 Notice on your Tenant until compliance with the above conditions and
the Court will not grant you/the Landlord a possession order We/the Agent has no liability for any loss suffered if you/ the
Landlord fail to comply.
a. OR
b. If you/the Landlord decide to hold the Deposit and the Tenancy is an Assured Shorthold Tenancy you/the Landlord must specify
to us/the Agent prior to the start of the Tenancy under which other Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme the Deposit will be covered.
If the Deposit is covered by Tenancy Deposit Solutions you/the Landlord must provide proof of membership, together with a copy of the
insurance policy before the Deposit can be released. If the Deposit is to be sent to the custodial scheme known as the Deposit Protection
Scheme we/the Agent will forward the Deposit to the DPS and register the details of the Tenancy.
3. The Agent holds tenancy deposits as Stakeholder.
4. At the end of the tenancy covered by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme
a. If there is no dispute we/the Agent will keep any amounts agreed as deductions where expenditure has been incurred on behalf of the Landlord,
or repay the whole or the balance of the Deposit according to the conditions of the Tenancy Agreement with the Landlord and the Tenant.
Payment of the Deposit will be made within 20 working days of written consent from both parties.
b. If, after 20 working days* following notification of a dispute to the Agent/Member and reasonable attempts have been made
in that time to resolve any differences of opinion, there remains an unresolved dispute between the Landlord and the Tenant over the
c. Allocation of the Deposit it will be submitted to the ICE for adjudication. All parties agree to co-operate with any
adjudication.
d. When the amount in dispute is over £5,000 the Landlord and the Tenant will agree by signing the Tenancy Agreement to submit the dispute to
formal arbitration through the engagement of an arbitrator appointed by the ICE although, with the written consent of both parties, the ICE
may at his discretion accept the dispute for adjudication. The appointment of an arbitrator will incur an administration fee, to be fixed by
the Board of The Dispute Service Ltd from time to time, shared equally between the Landlord and the Tenant. The liability for any subsequent
costs will be dependent upon the award made by the arbitrator.
e. The statutory rights of either you/the Landlord or the Tenant(s) to take legal action against the other party remain unaffected.
f. It is not compulsory for the parties to refer the dispute to the ICE for adjudication. The parties may, if either party chooses to
do so seek the decision of the Court. However, this process may take longer and may incur further costs. Judges may, because it is a condition of the
Tenancy Agreement signed by both parties, refer the dispute back to the ICE for adjudication. If the parties do agree that the dispute should be resolved
by the ICE, they must accept the decision of the ICE as final and binding.
g. If there is a dispute I/we must remit to The Dispute Service Ltd the full deposit, less any amounts already agreed by the parties
and paid over to them. This must be done within 10 working days of being told that a dispute has been registered whether or not you or I/we want to contest
it. Failure to do so will not delay the adjudication but The Dispute Service Ltd will take appropriate action to recover the deposit and discipline me/us.
h. The Agent/we must co-operate with the ICE in the adjudication of the dispute and follow any recommendations concerning the method of
the resolution of the dispute.
5. Incorrect Information
6. If the Landlord warrants that all the information he has provided to the Agent is correct to the best of his knowledge and belief.
In the event that the Landlord provides incorrect information to the Agent which causes the Agent to suffer loss or causes legal proceedings to be taken
the landlord agrees to reimburse and compensate the Agent for all losses suffered.
