Too many landlords not protecting their tenants’ deposits

The study, which was carried out by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, indicated that hundreds of thousands of landlords are ignoring their legal obligations – which were introduced back in 2007.

This leaves tenants at risk of losing their deposit money and could mean penalties for the landlord themselves.

Hannah Maundrell, editor in chief of the website Money.co.uk, said: “While many landlords are doing the right thing and protecting deposits in one of the official government backed schemes, a worrying amount of money is falling through the cracks and far too many tenants are being left vulnerable.

“It’s not right that tenants are left responsible for taking their landlord to court if their deposit hasn’t been protected. The Government needs to step in and take decisive action.

“Introducing a compulsory register listing every landlord that rents out property in England and Wales would be a start.”

In a sign of deep-rooted problems, a separate study earlier this month revealed that one in five tenants didn’t expect to see their deposit cheque again.

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