Record number of deposits now protected in the UK!

It’s been a busy summer season for us here at Ascend, and as we tot up the numbers, we’re seeing more lettings and sales than ever before. The number of people choosing to call Manchester their home is higher than ever and we’re always more than happy to help people accomplish this goal – regardless of whether you’re a tenant, buyer or an investor looking for a buy to let property.  

Despite Manchester being a popular city for all walks of life, you’d find it difficult to argue that the city is not made up of mostly renters. Tenants are staying in rented accommodation longer thanks to the no-strings and flexible lifestyle it brings. Renting allows students, graduates and young professionals the affordable option of living right in the heart of the city in modern, trendy developments – a luxury that isn’t often available to renters in many other large cities.

As more of us are renting in the city, it’s important to brush up on the basics of renting. A biggie for many tenants and landlords is the deposit. Let’s face it, it’s a huge chunk of money and tenants want to know that it’s going to be safe during their tenancy agreement and by the same token, landlords with multiple properties need to know that all their deposits are in safe places in order to keep track of each one individually. Unfortunately, even in 2016, some rouge landlords and tenants don’t follow the rules and leave deposits unprotected, or not registered in the correct manner.

The good news however, is that with the chronic rise of renters, it does seem that more people are becoming aware of the importance of protecting deposits and actively making an effort to ensure money is safe. In fact, new research from the Tenancy Deposit Scheme has shown that the number of landlords and agents protecting deposits has risen by 360,000 in the last 12 months. That’s right, England and Wales are taking deposit protection pretty seriously – that’s around a 10% rise compared to last year, taking the total number of protected deposits to 3.4 million. Impressive!

What this tells us about the rental sector today is huge – the total amount of deposits now protected equals a whopping £3.5 billion! That’s a lot of money, so it’s good to know it’s being protected. If this cash was in the hands of landlords or the agents themselves, all parties would be playing a risky game if anything was to happen. Always make sure your deposit goes into a protection scheme and remember your login in details at the end of the tenancy to ensure you can claim back as much as you’re owed.

At Ascend, our clients come first and we would never dream of not protecting client funds. It’s not cool and it’s just not us. To find out more about our methods and how we can help you during the lettings process (as a tenant or a landlord) give us a call today on 0161 637 8336. We’d love to chat to you.