Tenancy deposit schemes are ‘in urgent need of reform’

The recent closure of Morgan Hampton letting agents in Wimborne, Dorset, has been ceased upon by the CEO of Keep It Simple Group as another opportunity to campaign against rental deposits in the private rented sector.

The closing of Morgan Hampton has left behind a queue of customers claiming their deposits have gone missing, according to Dorset Trading Standards.

Ajay Jagota, CEO and founder of Keep It Simple Group (KIS), is seeking an official government response to a series of crimes and misdemeanours in the tenancy deposit scheme which is officiated and run under their supervision. He believes that a more effective way to improve the private rented sector would be for monetary deposits to be scrapped.  

His firm KIS were the first letting agents to abolish monetary deposits, replacing them with a one-of-a-kind insurance policy.

Jagota is also founder of dLighted, an insurance backed deposit-free renting solution offering up to £7,500 of cover for agents.

He has written to Dorset MP Michael Tomlinson for his views in relation to the tenancy deposit scheme.

Jagota said: “Renting in the UK is starting to feel like a protection racket where paying the right organisations lets you pretty much do as you please.

“We’ve been trying to get to the bottom of what has happened in this and several other cases, where tenancy deposit schemes, redress schemes, industry bodies like ARLA the firms involved have been members of have been fundamentally unable to prevent serious wrongdoing and are now unwilling to answer our questions.

“It shouldn’t be left to us to do that. I believe in self-regulation, but this is ridiculous! 

“This is the sector’s dirty little secret which we are exposing and either government is aware and complicit or not aware and incompetent, there can be no excuse not to act and reform cash tenancy deposits.”

“Some £2.4bn of deposits are currently held by letting agents in insurance tenancy deposit schemes,” he added. “If people want to act fraudulently it is really easy to do that. The entire system is in urgent need of reform.”

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