A UK landlord has moved to scrap rental deposits from 14th June 2017 for new residents. Get Living is also returning security deposits to existing residents, which will see roughly £3million released back to the UK economy.
Launched in May 2013, Get Living is the force behind the country’s biggest single-site PRS scheme at the old London 2012 Athlete’s Village – now known as East Village, E20. This site is home to over 3,000 tenants in 1,439 homes.
No Deposits
From 14th June, new residents who pass referencing checks or have a guarantor in place will not be required to pay a security deposit. In addition, as a reward for residents that have taken good care of their home and paid rent on time, Get Living will waive any cleaning costs should these amount to less than a week’s rent.
Present Get Living residents will have their deposits returned to them from early July 2017. Firstly, deposits will be returned to residents who have lived in the same East Village residence for longest, with this process expected to be complete by the end of the year.
UK landlord to scrap rental deposits
Neil Young, CEO of Get Living, observed: ‘Get Living was the first to revolutionise the rental experience in the UK by removing agency fees and introducing longer term tenancies as standard. We know that the cost of living can be high so, as a responsible landlord with a long-term perspective, it is important for us to be able to identify and address areas where we can alleviate the burden on our residents. Scrapping security deposits as a pre-requirement and returning deposits to current residents is yet another step we are taking to show we are firmly on the side of renters.’[1]
‘We launched Get Living four years ago this month and in that time our average deduction from deposits has been just a few days’ rent, with the majority of our residents getting their deposits returned in full. We have great relationships with our residents and, given they are taking such good care of our homes, why should we hold six weeks’ rent? We can do this at Get Living because we have the scale and track-record to know it will work.
“Where we have led – with no fees and longer tenancies – others have followed. We hope deposit-free renting becomes the norm,’ he added.[2]
[1] http://www.propertyreporter.co.uk/landlords/uk-landlord-scraps-rental-deposits.html