1st
Jul 2016
£3.2bn tenancy deposits are collected each year and a property expert wants to know where £1.4bn is being kept.
The yearly tenancy deposits are kept in one of the three government endorsed schemes with landlords and letting agents in charge of their placement. The deposit is kept in either a Custodial or an Insurance Scheme where the money is ‘safeguarded’ by the agents or landlords.
Ajay Jagota of sales and lettings firm, together with an insurance backed deposit-free renting solution company, are both trying to unearth where the deposits are and one of the three bodies, the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, has been asked the question which organisations and how much money they hold.
The Tenancy Deposit Scheme is that largest of three endorsed schemes said that approximately £1.4bn of deposits are being held in its Insurance Scheme, it issued a point blank statement that it is not prepared to reveal the name of companies because of “commercial sensitivity”.
The other two Deposit schemes MyDeposits and the Deposit Protection Scheme, have been asked the same question along with a Freedom of Information request to the government.
Ajay Jakota said: “This is a significant amount of money – it doesn’t seem unreasonable to ask where it has gone and what the people who have it are doing with it.
“It’s not that I’m suggesting any wrongdoing whatsoever, I just think the money could be better spent elsewhere.
“Instead of just gathering interest for agents and landlords it could be helping renters save for a home of their own, or being channelled into the wider economy where it could easily end up as tax revenue which could go towards the NHS?
“I cannot for the life of me see what is commercially sensitive about this information. What is commercially sensitive about it being known that landlords and letting agents have deposits held in Tenancy Deposit schemes like they legally have to?
“If they are large, listed companies as I suspect many of them are, this information will in all likelihood be contained in their published accounts. In which case, it’s not that commercially sensitive!
“Organisations not being 100% transparent about where this money goes, what it is being used for and who is benefiting does nothing to improve the reputation of our industry, which ultimately can only be improved with greater transparency, particularly when it comes it tenants’ money”.
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