Nearly a fifth (18%) of tenants renting from private landlords say they have waited more than three months to get a deposit back, according to a survey carried out by the Nationwide. The average waiting time was found to be almost two months and the mortgage lender also revealed that 4% of those asked had experienced a delay of more than six months.
Not good enough says a leading deposit protection scheme. In fact, the money should be returned within 10 days of the tenant requesting it after they move out of the property.
The survey of more than 2,000 private tenants reveals that 35% had previously lost some or all of their tenancy deposit and as we commented in this blog earlier in October, 18 to 24-year-olds are particularly likely to have money deducted from their deposit to cover end of tenancy cleaning costs.
At Ringley we are proud of the relationships we build with both landlords and tenants. We work hard to ensure all our landlords treat tenants fairly and with respect. Sometimes there is a good reason for withholding deposit monies but if you have a problem – and believe your money is being withheld for no good reason – please contact us as soon as possible. If we don’t know, we can’t help.
Paul Wootton, Nationwide’s director of specialist lending, believes solutions to the problem for tenants could include transferring deposits from one tenancy to the next, providing appropriate short-term loans or offering a guarantee. What do you think?