Taylor Vinters - Solicitors

Rental tenants will now be informed when their deposit is not being protected appropriately by their landlord.

The Deposit Protection Service (DPS) will introduce the new service, designed to give tenants a greater level of protection from being mistreated.

It is also hoped that landlords will receive protection from letting agents that fail to properly protect deposits entrusted to them.

The new policy came into force on June 2nd, with the DPS the only government-approved scheme so far to have launched this as a routine procedure.

Kevin Firth, director of the DPS, explained that the measure is "not intended to name and shame".

He said: "The DPS is already the safest option for tenants and landlords because we physically hold onto a deposit.

"Others insure it – which offers no certainty for tenants and leaves landlords vulnerable if a letting agent goes into administration."

Under the Housing Act 2004, all deposits paid under assured shorthold tenancy agreements after April 6th 2007 should have been protected under a tenancy deposit scheme.

Michaela Henson, head of property at Taylor Vinters, commented: "This is a further positive development in the measures introduced two years ago to protect residential tenants from unscrupulous landlords. The tenancy deposit schemes imposed are considered a success and have reduced disputes where the sums involved are often too low to warrant tenants taking formal legal action."