Member Article

30% of tenant complaints are about deposits

Almost a third of the most serious tenant complaints about a landlord relate to the misuse of a deposit.

30% of cases considered by solicitors acting for online claims management firm Veriwise relate to deposit abuse – with an estimated 25% of the firm’s clients unsure if or where their deposit is protected.

21% of initial inquires made to the firm –which was set up to take on housing disrepair claims on behalf of renters without the resources or legal skills to take on their landlords alone - relate to damp and mould.

Research released recently by the National Residential Landlords Association discovered that two thirds of English councils have prosecuted no landlords for offencesrelated to standards in or the management of private rented housing over thelast three years – and that just 20 local authorities were responsible for 77%of all successful prosecutions.

This week major national letting agent Purple Bricks was accused of failing to place renters deposits within one of the three government registered schemes within the required timeframes.

Veriwise founder Ajay Jagota commented:

“Veriwise was created in response to Britain’s epidemic of poorly maintained and unrepaired rented homes – but we’ve been startled at how many of the most serious complaints we’ve received about landlords continue to relate to deposits.

“The situation could be even worse that it looks – it’s truly alarming how many of the renters who come to us to complain about things like broken central heating, rodent infestations and dangerous electrics are also unable to tell us if and where their deposit is protected.

“It stands to reason that the same landlords who don’t care about their legal responsibilities when it comes to living conditions would be equally negligent when it comes to deposits. “As always, my questions are who is enforcing these regulations? The NRLA research suggests next-to-no-one.

“Legislation only works if it’s enforced. It is 14 years since tenancy deposit protection became mandatory – and there are countless other laws and regulations designed to protect tenants which may as well not exist. But by the looks of things even major players like Purple Bricks are being accused of failing to adhere to them. Veriwise was set up to make sure that renter’s rights are protected – regardless of how much money or legal knowledge they have”.

Veriwise takes on housing disrepair and tenancy deposit claims on behalf of renters, negotiating with councils or private landlords to get property maintenance issues fixed quickly and claim compensation for renters from landlords. In cases where the landlord does not comply Veriwise have a panel of solicitors who can take the case to court to ensure the landlord complies and pays any compensation. All renter shave to do is submit the issues they are experiencing with their rented home online, allowing Veriwise to identify legal breaches and follow them up with landlords to rapidly resolve the issue and seek compensation where appropriate. 

Veriwise is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.  

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by John Hart .