Petition Stop Landlord Deposit Theft

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This petition is for the modification of Section 214, Housing Act 2004 to stop handover of deposits to landlords on the proviso they place it into a deposit protection scheme (DPS) within 14 days of receiving it.

The problem: Landlords often delay DPS protection, never protect deposits / refuse to do so and do not repay unprotected deposits at the end of the tenancy. This has resulted in 1000’s of County Court battles wasting millions of pounds, countless hours of the already overburdened legal system, and the judges interpretation of the Act varies greatly.

The alternative: As per the comparative Australian Housing Act, the tenant places the deposit directly into the DPS, whereupon the DPS e-mails both landlord and tenant to say the deposit is protected with them and relates to a specific property.

The modification is small and simple, changing only one step in the DPS system. Everything else remains the same, but the effects can be significant.

This petition is closed This petition ran for 6 months

11 signatures

Progress of the petition towards its next target: 11 of 10,000 signatures required to get a government response

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10,000 signatures required to get a government response

Date closed 2 October 2013
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