Launch of TDS Custodial Service for deposits
The Dispute Service will launch a new custodial deposit protection scheme for England and Wales on 1st April 2016, having been approved by the Department for Communities and Local Government.
The launch of TDS Custodial means that agents and landlords will have a choice of custodial scheme for the first time since tenancy deposit protection became mandatory in 2007.
What is custodial deposit protection?
Agents and landlords can either register their deposit(s) with an insurance-backed scheme or protect the funds with a custodial scheme, but until now there has only been one custodial scheme provider. With the custodial model, the agent or landlord lodges the entire deposit with the scheme free of charge. Operating costs for the custodial model are met from the interest generated by the funds.
TDS are the leading provider of the insurance-backed model, where the agent or landlord retains the funds for the duration of the tenancy and pays a small fee to protect it.
We already operate a very successful custodial scheme in Northern Ireland, with a 75% market share, and provide key services to SafeDeposits Scotland, the leading deposit scheme north of the border. TDS custodial will blend our powerful yet simple online deposit management system with our first-class customer service and provide agents and landlords with an outstanding alternative to their current custodial scheme for the first time.
TDS Custodial scheme will launch on 1st April 2016 and we will be taking registrations from January 2016.
