Capped Deposits

Mon 11 Mar 2019

 The Tenant Fees Act 2019 comes into force on 1 June 2019. The legislation dictates that security deposits will be capped at the equivalent of 5-weeks' rent for assured-shorthold tenancies with an annual rent of up to £50,000, or 6-weeks' rent for tenancies with an annual rent of £50,000 or more. 

These changes will apply to ALL new tenancies entered into from 1 June 2019, alongside any existing tenancies that are renewed on a fixed-term basis. For clarity, this does NOT affect any tenancies which continue on a periodic basis. Also, if new tenancy agreements are entered into (signed) before 1 June 2019, these tenancies will not be affected initially, irrespective of when the tenant actually moves into the property, though the cap will apply to any future renewal.

At present, all of the tenancy deposit protection schemes are currently in joint discussions with The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), in relation to deposits currently protected that will be affected by the cap.  As part of these discussions, we are defining the process that will be implemented by all three schemes, following approval by MHCLG.  It is intended that this process will result in the least amount of administrative effort for you and will be based around a part-repayment of a deposit; we won't require you to repay and re-protect deposits (or issue new Prescribed Information)