It’s been another busy year for us at my|deposits. Let’s take a look back at the support we’ve provided for our member landlords and agents, along with some of our key achievements in 2011.
In 2011…
- Our call centre has taken more than 105,000 calls from landlord and agent members
- We’ve responded to over 60,000 email enquiries.
- Our adjudicators have resolved nearly 4,000 disputes
- We protected over 353,000 deposits worth more than £375m
- Over 15,000 new landlords have joined the scheme.
In March, we hit the milestone of protecting more than £1 billion worth of deposits since we started up less than five years earlier. That’s £1 billion worth of tenancy deposits that our members have been able to hold onto themselves, rather than hand over to a custodial scheme. It was proof landlords and agents have embraced tenancy deposit protection and that they can be trusted to hold onto the deposit money.
Throughout the year we’ve strived to help our members better understand tenancy deposit protection. We released our comprehensive Guide to Tenancy Deposits, Disputes and Damages – which explains everything landlords, agents and tenants need to know about protecting deposits, avoiding disputes, and what to do if there is a dispute. It’s well worth a read and can be downloaded from the Guides section on our website.
Our new look website was launched this year, with dedicated sections for landlords, agents and tenants. There are guides and resources which are tailor-made for all users of the scheme, and it also includes quick links to our latest press releases, blogs and news along with a jargon buster and FAQs. Tenants can check whether their deposits are protected through the site, while landlords can sign up and start protecting deposits immediately online.
In October we held our first Disputes Workshop for letting agents in London to help them better understand disputes and how adjudicators make their decisions. More than one hundred agents turned up to hear about deposit protection and how to avoid a dispute. More workshops are planned for 2012 so watch this space.
In November, we released our average tenancy deposit figures showing the average protected tenancy deposit in England and Wales has increased by £125 in the past year to £1,110. We also released a regional breakdown of average deposit sizes which makes for interesting reading.
2012 will also be a big year for us as we look to expand into Scotland, with the launch of my|deposits Scotland, pending approval by the Scottish Government. If you own or manage property in Scotland, then we look forward to protecting your deposits there as well.
Finally, we’d like to take this opportunity to wish all our members a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and look forward to providing you with all of your tenancy deposit protection needs in 2012.
When a landlord uses my|deposits, they hold onto the deposit money themselves in their own bank account and can earn interest on it. We do not hold the deposit money.