RLA : RPI : One sided justification

News from the Residential Property Investor, the bi-monthly magazine for RLA members

other artilces from the June / July 04 issue

One sided justification - June / July 2004

'Twenty per cent of tenants say they have suffered from landlords withholding their deposit without good reason. This is something the Government will not ignore, it is the right of tenants to have their deposits safeguarded and it is the responsibility of Government to ensure they do'.

This is the justification put forward by Housing Minister Keith Hill for the Government's decision to table an amendment to the Housing Bill requiring 'protection' for tenancy deposits.

That tenants are hard done by when it comes to getting their deposits back is an oft repeated charge. And it is one that seems always to be based on what tenants say.

Nobody seems to question the idea that such claims might be unjustified, exaggerated, or just plain untrue. How many tenants who have had a deposit withheld are likely to say they agree no matter what damage they may have done to a property?

Perhaps more to the point, nobody seems to be interested in soliciting landlords' views on the subject, or for that matter concerned about the frequency and extent to which they have suffered from tenants acting unreasonably.

The most welcome part of the Government's announcement is that 'members of trade and professional bodies should be able to look to these organisations to provide their own (Government approved, deposit protection) schemes'. This at least provides some scope for keeping the undoubted cost (to landlords, and ultimately to tenants) within reason, and will provide yet further argument for all landlords to join organisations such as the RLA.

other artilces from the June / July 2004 issue

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