Barbers use The Zero Deposit™ Guarantee, which was developed to make renting more affordable and fair by providing an alternative to traditional tenancy deposits, and one of their aims is to speed up the resolution of end-of-tenancy disputes. If you’re about to sign a rental agreement, or reviewing your rights as your tenancy ends, you might find it useful to think about the following points:
1. Your landlord should be using a deposit scheme If you rent your home on an assured shorthold tenancy that started after 6 April 2007, your landlord must put your deposit in a government-backed tenancy deposit scheme.
2. Making time to read your rental agreement is key We know there can be a mountain of information to get through when you rent a property, but it’s important to understand exactly what you are signing up for. When you’ve read the documentation, keep it safe until the deposit is paid back to you. Barbers staff will always help with any queries about the documents provided.
3. There are things that your landlord can’t deduct for at the end of your deposit Your landlord can’t claim for general wear and tear, or damage caused by issues they have been told about, but failed to resolve. The Citizens Advice Bureau points out that landlords can’t claim for decorating a whole room if you’ve just left a few scuff marks.
4. The inventory is very important We know that checking an inventory isn't the first thing on your mind when you move into a new home, but it's important to check the description is accurate. An inventory should contain detailed information about the condition of the property you are renting. If there is a dispute when you check out, you may need to review the inventory report so you can compare descriptions.
Unfortunately, some rent deposit schemes take longer than their stated deadline of 28 days to sort out disputes. In those cases tenants are unable to access their cash – which may be needed for a future home move – and landlords are stuck with long void periods while they wait for the sum they need for repairs and redecoration to come through.
This is the reason why so many tenants and landlords are turning to Zero Deposit. Instead of finding five weeks’ rent at the start of a tenancy, tenants pay the equivalent of just one week’s rent, while landlords are covered for six weeks. Any disputes arising from a Zero Deposit guarantee are handled by our expert evaluation partner, The Dispute Service (TDS). Of course, you’ll still have to pay for any damage that you might cause or rent that you might owe, so we recommend keeping some cash in reserve towards the end of your tenancy, just in case.
Zero Deposit helps you keep hold of your hard-earned money at the start of your tenancy, leaving you free to spend it on the things you love. Find out more about how the guarantee can work for you here - https://www.zerodeposit.com/
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