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Only 1 in 3 Landlords sign up to Tenancy Deposit Scheme

According to latest research carried out by Alliance & Leicester Mortgages, less than a third of private landlords are signing-up to the mandatory Tenancy Deposit Scheme.

Commenting on the news, Chief Executive of property-careers.com, Stephen Callaghan said, "The Alliance and Leicester research shows that there is unfortunately very little awareness of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme amongst private landlords, and this is likely to result in disputes when tenancies come to an end"

He went on to say "The recently initiated Government (CLG) Review of the Private Rented Sector should provide focus for this issue once and for all. I am in contact with the authors of the forthcoming report into this sector and hope to be able to share our experiences and influence their findings."

Interestingly, the research shows that the relationship between a landlord and their tenants is not strictly business. In fact, one in five younger tenants regularly catch up with their landlords on a social level, with one in ten aged between 25-34 counting them as a friend.

The advisory and handyman element of the landlord relationship still rings true, however more of today's tenants look upon their landlord as a member of the family.

Indeed nine per cent of landlords foster this relationship by checking in on their tenants once a fortnight, with one in ten stating that they would buy their tenants a leaving card on vacating the property.

Stephen Leonard, director of mortgages at Alliance & Leicester, said this helps weed out the instance of disputes, instead allowing all parties a handle on the situation due to their closer business bond.

"With so many young tenants living long distances away from their family and friends, it's clearly very useful to have somebody they trust to turn to for support," he said.

However two in five landlords still have little awareness of the mandatory Tenancy Deposit Scheme.

Furthermore, only a third of landlords (32 per cent) confirmed that they had signed up to the scheme.

Leonard added: "The Tenant Deposit Scheme could play a key role in helping landlords to independently resolve a dispute with tenants relating to property damage or deposits.

"The process can also benefit landlords through actively encouraging tenants to look after the property and return it in the same condition they found it in.

"With a quarter of landlords only checking on the maintenance of their properties once every six months, this scheme could be a real advantage for many time-pressed landlords."

February 2008