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Tenancy Deposit Protection

Landlords or their assigned agent must protect a tenancy deposit in either an insurance deposit protection scheme or in a custodial deposit protection scheme in line with the following requirements:-
  1. Previously for deposit taken by Landlords  between 1st April 2013 and 31st March 2023 - Landlords must have protected the deposit in an approved scheme within 14 days of receiving it and must have given the required written information about the deposit scheme to the tenant, within 28 days.
 
  1. For any deposits taken by Landlords after 1st April 2023 – As a result of recent changes to the law Landlords now have longer periods of up to 28 days to protect a tenancy deposit and up to 35 days of receipt of the deposit to give required written information about the deposit scheme to the tenant.
The two approved schemes in Northern Ireland are:
  1. My Deposits - Tel: 0333 321 9403   www.mydepositsni.co.uk
  2. TDS Northern Ireland - Tel: 0300 037 3700               www.tdsnorthernireland.com
At the end of the tenancy, any disagreement about the return of some or all of the deposit will be dealt with by the chosen scheme’s dispute resolution mechanism.

If a landlord or landlord’s agent does not protect a deposit or comply with the requirements of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme a Fixed Penalty Notice of three times the value of the deposit can be issued, or prosecution by Council may result in a fine of up to £20,000.

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