The Tenancy Deposit Scheme has announced the results of its first survey looking into the take-up and attitudes of the mandatory Tenancy Deposit Protection (TDP).

Letting agents and landlords were surveyed, which showed that 60% of landlords had joined one of three authorised schemes. A further quarter did not take any deposits at all and, as a result, fall outside legal requirements to be joined to a scheme.
Lawrence Greenberg, chief executive of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, said: “It is surprising and gratifying that such a high proportion of tenants are aware and positive about the benefits of tenancy deposit protection so quickly after implementation. Yet, with only a third of landlords being aware, these figures show that we still have a long way to go to get the message across.”

Greenberg believes landlords need to be educated on the schemes: “There are still large numbers who we must presume are breaking the law because they still have to grasp the fact that tenancy deposit protection is mandatory.”