Tamsin Cox weighs up the successes & failures of the tenancy deposit scheme three years on
The Tenancy Deposit Schemes (TDS) described in ss 213–215 and Sch 10 of the Housing Act 2004 (HA 2004) have now been in force for nearly three years, and those who deal regularly with the Assured Shorthold Tenancies to which they relate will now be familiar with the basic requirements and somewhat draconian sanctions imposed on landlords who fail properly to comply with them. However, since the first imposition of the TDS a number of issues have arisen in practice in relation to the interpretation of the provisions of the statute, but there is a dearth of reported authority to assist practitioners. In the last month, however, the first High Court decision on the proper interpretation of the TDS has been published.
The first authority to be made widely available in relation to the TDS was Harvey v Bamforth (2008) 46 EG 119, a decision of His Honour Judge Bullimore in the Sheffield County Court. However,
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