Landlord Assist has launched a new deposit replacement warranty scheme which removes the requirement for a tenant to pay the deposit upfront.
Instead of paying the traditional deposit, which is normally four to six weeks rent, the tenant will only have to pay an initial premium of between £100 and £160. This premium will provide guaranteed payment against any damage or non-payment of rent at the end of the tenancy. Private landlords are expected to benefit massively from the scheme simply by advertising properties that don’t require a deposit. Being able to advertise as ‘No Deposit Required’ will certainly help landlords to attract tenants and lessen the possibility of looking for empty property insurance.
Graham Kinnear, managing director at Landlord Assist, said “This new scheme will be the perfect answer to a catch 22 situation. We have come across instances where tenants have been forced to borrow finance to simply pay for a second deposit whilst they wait for a refund from their previous landlord. Tenants love the fact that under the deposit replacement warranty they can move into new accommodation without the need to save up yet another deposit and landlords love the fact that it can speed up the tenancy process.”
The scheme has already attracted a lot of interest due to the fact that under the Coalition Government’s Tenancy Deposit Schemes, the landlord can only apply to return the tenant’s deposit at the end of the tenancy agreement when the tenant has left the property. It is a good alternative to the Coalition deposit scheme which can take 60 days for disputed claims to be resolved. With the Landlord Assist scheme all claims are guaranteed to be settled within a week so that landlords can carry out any repairs almost immediately.