The recent conviction of a letting agent who stole £15,000 worth of tenancy deposits has taken the total value of deposits that are known to be stolen in the first quarter (Q1) of 2017 to £310,000.
Over £300,000 Worth of Tenancy Deposits Stolen in Q1 2017
The Founder and CEO of Keep It Simple Group (KIS), Ajay Jagota, has taken this opportunity to campaign against deposits in the private rental sector.
Thirunga Damayantharan, a Croydon-based letting agent, was sentenced to 19 months in prison last month, after being found guilty of stealing a number of tenancy deposits over a six-year period.
Jagota has long been campaigning for an official Government response to a series of crimes and misdemeanours in the tenancy deposit industry, so it is no surprise that he has welcomed the news that the Government’s consultation into the letting agent fee ban will also consider reforming the way tenancy deposits are paid.
Jagota believes that a more effective way to improve the private rental sector would be for monetary deposits to be scrapped.
His firm KIS was the first letting agent to abolish monetary tenancy deposits, replacing them with a one-of-a-kind insurance policy.
Jagota explains his stance: “The Government’s announcement that deposit reform will form part of the letting agent fees ban consultation led to the usual flurry of outrage from the usual suspects, but the industry needs to accept that change is coming.
“It’s absolutely true that deposits are a financial burden on renters in need of minimising, and it’s in the letting industry’s interest as much as anybody else’s that they are not only minimized, but eliminated altogether. We exist to help landlords find and keep good tenants!”
He continues: “No one is saying that asset protection for landlords isn’t essential – we only look to research this week claiming that a third of tenants wouldn’t own up to damaging their rented property – but there are better ways of doing it, and replacing cash deposits with insurance policies is one.
“I can already see a path to a place where it costs agents money whenever they take a cash deposit. The chair of one of the tenancy deposit schemes seemed to be hinting in a recent interview that as ongoing low interest rates are making it harder to operate, he wants to start charging for his services. You might think that will never happen, but a lot of people thought that a letting agent fee ban would never happen.”
Jagota insists: “Whether by legislation or technology, the sector is going to change. It is time to recognise the sector’s associations who represent it have a poor track record of lobbying Government, and it is now time to embrace any opportunities from the forthcoming changes.”