Have you re-claimed your tenancy deposit?

Renting can be expensive enough without factoring in the damage done when you don’t get your deposit back.

Now it appears that it’s not just the abuse of property that’s stopping renters getting their deposits back, but a simple (and costly) failure to claim them.

The latest worrying news I’ve seen from the Deposit Protection Service (DPS) suggests the British public have failed to come forward and claim £2 million worth of tenant deposits in the past year –a very nice little nest egg for anyone planning their new year sales shopping.

And those from London should pay particular attention as the DPS reported the capital’s renters left 729 separate deposits, or 15.9 per cent of all deposits lodged with the service, unclaimed last year.

The Government accredited service, which protects and holds nearly 670,000 UK deposits, also reports that renters in Greater Manchester are missing out on substantial cash, with 350 separate deposits – that’s 7.6 per cent of all deposits lodged with the DPS - going unclaimed last year.

The Deposit Protection Service table shows a list of unclaimed deposits by county

DPS director Kevin Firth said that while a new text messaging service to remind users to re-claim their deposits at the end their tenancy has helped raise awareness, it’s imperative that tenants keep their contact details up to date.

“There is still a significant amount of unclaimed monies and tenants are missing out on money which is rightfully theirs,” Firth says. “We are committed to repaying deposits as quickly as possible – and text message notification has helped enormously with this challenge, but unfortunately some tenants are still not keeping their contact details up to date, putting their deposit in limbo.”

In general, we Brits haven’t done too badly when it comes to reclaiming our tenancy deposits, with an impressive £3 million of unclaimed deposits returned last year. But we can definitely do better.

“As well as the introduction of SMS, we have worked hard to track the addresses and phone numbers of tenants; and informed all existing tenants that these details must be kept up to date so it’s easier to get in touch with them if money is unclaimed at the end of the tenancy.”

Tags: deposit, deposit protection scheme, London, Manchester, money, Private Rented Sector, Rent, Renting, Tenant, Tenants

http://www.fastemailsender.com

Posted by Samantha Baden
Categorised under General, Renting & Letting
This article currently has 9 comments

9 comments on “Have you re-claimed your tenancy deposit?”

At 21:02 on January 1, 2011, Russell said:

So what happens to the dosh if it remains unclaimed?
At 21:03 on January 1, 2011, Russell said:

This will amount to £millions. Maybe this is where the funds should be found for charity funding that the Govt have recently addressed?
At 12:30 on January 15, 2011, mothership said:

My daughter paid a holding deposit on a rental agreement that never actually came to fruition, and then forgot to reclaim her deposit. That was about 18 months ago. Can she still recover the money from the letting agent?
At 15:52 on January 19, 2011, Tom Derrett said:

I wonder how the DPS know that the tenancy has ended…
At 13:10 on February 6, 2011, Molly brown said:

This was a riveting read, it enlightened me to many aspects which i have previously overlooked.
At 02:45 on February 10, 2011, Landlord said:

I’m wondering the same as Russell – what actually happens to the unclaimed deposits?
At 17:23 on July 5, 2011, Tenant said:

I am not sure what the Director of DPS is talking about; for sure is talking nonsense. The procedures they have put in place are full of jargon and whatever you have to do is so impossible that a tenants prefers to leave things as they are. Nobody ever texted me, my landlord has received a text once and said that the DPS will not want to release my money as it doesn’t work like MyDeposit. Mr Firth should be clear about the procedures he has put in place. His staff is unable to respond, the online help is a robot unable to understand the sense of questions asked. Overall the DPS is lacking of professionalism and are not fit to run a deposit scheme. An enquiry should be open to investigate the way they operate. It is obvious Mr Firth got a salary which is made of the deposits that he never returns.
At 08:53 on July 13, 2011, Janette said:

I totally agree with what Tenant said on July 5. It’s now been 3 months since we moved and we are still fighting to get our deposit back despite the fact that the landlord hasn’t disputed it. Every time my husband telephones he is given conflicting information.
At 06:32 on November 4, 2011, chrismartin39 said:

It is very important that you get your tenancy deposit. The chart above gives a wide knowledge about the areas and their rates.
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