Landlords 'ignoring tenancy deposit laws'

Landlords are not paying attention to legislation regarding tenancy deposits, a new survey has found.

According to the Deposit Protection Service (DPS) study, one in three landlords is disobeying the law.

Just under one-third of landlords admitted to not registering a deposit with a government-accredited scheme, which has been a necessity since April 2007.

However, this figure has dropped by 50 per cent since last year, when 61 per cent of landlords claimed they were ignoring the legislation.

Kevin Firth, director of the DPS, said that "good progress" is being made on deposits but more work needs to be done.

He commented: "Good progress has been made within the industry at raising awareness of landlords' legal responsibilities.

"The fact that the number of landlords ignoring the law has halved is testament to the fact that most landlords want to do the right thing."

A new national register for tenant deposits has been advocated by the DPS.

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