Email to a friend
Print Page
The Tenant Deposit Scheme (TDS) comes inot play in a few weeks time. But what do we as landlords know about it?
Well, it will provide protection to both tenants and landlords entering into assured short hold tenancy agreements, by offering an independent and regulated means of dispute resolution.
The National Landlords Association (NLA), the sponsors of one of the two insurance schemes on offer, hopes that the TDS can help to "nurture and encourage a professional private-rented sector."
As the resolution of disputes will be based on evidence, supplying an inventory will be a prerequisite for a referral to the Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme.
"The provision of an independent inventory must be a core assumption of the TDS", explains Jonathan Senior from inventoryclerk.com, the largest provider of inventories in the UK. The re-distribution of deposit monies and the resolution of disputes will surely be largely based on pre prepared inventories.
The process of preparing an inventory is to accurately document the state of fixtures, fittings and the internal condition of a property prior to the commencement of a tenancy. As remote Landlords, we can't all be around to record our own inventories. "From April of this year, when the TDS is put into operation, the rental sector can expect to experience a shock of demand for independent inventories," adds Senior.
However, at present there is a shortage of professional inventory clerks. Maybe some of those HIPs advisors confused and abandoned can switch horses mid-stream?
