What is a Relevant Person?
A “Relevant Person” (also known as a “third-party”) is any person who pays the deposit on behalf of a tenant. Your Fronted Deposit Loan Agreement is an arrangement where we pay your rental deposit on your behalf, and by doing so, makes us a Relevant Person in relation to the rental deposit.
What are the rules?
The Housing Act 2004 introduced rules intended to ensure that tenancy deposits are properly protected in a government authorised scheme, and gives tenants access to a free dispute resolution service if they are unable to agree with their landlord how the deposit should be allocated at the end of the tenancy.
The tenancy deposit protection legislation applies to all new tenancy deposits taken on or after 6 April 2007 for qualifying assured shorthold tenancies.
What does my estate agent have to do?
Deposits should be protected by landlords or their agents in an authorised scheme within 30 days of receiving the funds. You should receive a confirmation email from them to let you know once this has been done.
Tenants and any Relevant Person should also be provided with Prescribed Information about where their deposit was protected and how the tenancy deposit protection scheme operates.
What happens if the landlord/estate agent breaks the rules?
If a landlord or estate agent breaches the rules, the tenant or a Relevant Person can apply to the County Court for certain remedies including (where relevant) that:
The person holding the deposit must pay it into a government authorised scheme or pay it to the person who made the court application; and
The landlord must pay a penalty (between one and three times the amount of the rental deposit) to the person who made the court application.
What does this mean?
As well as having the right to receive information, this gives us the same right as you; to apply to a County Court if the landlord has breached its obligation to protect the rental deposit in a government authorised scheme.
What happens after I take out a Fronted Deposit?
After you’ve decided to take out a Fronted Deposit Loan with us, we’ll contact you to ask for your estate agent email address. We’ll then contact your estate agent to let them know that we’ve transferred your deposit funds, providing them with full details so they can locate the payment and assign the money to your tenancy agreement. We’ll also confirm that we’re a Relevant Person and provide them with our details so that they can ensure we’re included as a Relevant Person on your certificate.
What happens at the end of my tenancy?
At the end of your tenancy, if you have an outstanding balance with us, including any arrears, we have the right for the funds returned to us from your deposit. We will work with you and the appropriate Deposit Protection Scheme to retrieve the funds to pay off your loan in full.
If you have paid your Fronted Deposit loan off early or do not have an outstanding balance with us at the end of your tenancy, your deposit funds will be returned directly to you from your agent or landlord.
Does a Relevant Person affect my tenancy in a negative way?
No, being a Relevant Person does not impact your tenancy agreement or renter rights in any way.