Tenants 'being misled by deposit firm'

05/06/2009

An official tenancy protection scheme issued an urgent warning to customers late yesterday.

Mydeposits.co.uk said that a firm operating as Mytenancydeposit.co.uk (MTD Secure Limited) was not running a government-backed scheme, despite appearances which suggested otherwise.

Along with Mydeposits.co.uk, the only other companies allowed to legally protect tenants' deposits are The Dispute Service and The Deposit Protection Service.

Tenants who put their deposits with alternative firms for safe-keeping therefore do not gain the same protection.

Mydeposits.co.uk said in a statement: "The claim that "MTD Secure Limited is a company administering a tenancy deposit protection scheme by Tenancy Deposit Solutions Limited under contract from Communities & Local Government" is not true.

"Any letting agent and/or landlord using this company should be aware that their deposits will not be protected ... Not protecting with one of the three government-authorised schemes can lead to penalties for the landlord."

The statement comes as Britain's tenants and landlords face tough financial times, due to the economic downturn and credit crunch.

Home repossessions are predicted to almost double this year by mortgage lenders - while the National Landlords Association recently said that one in three tenants were then in arrears on their rent.

Tags; Housing Debt and Bills, Recent Graduate Debt,

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