The Independent Select Committee responsible for conducting the pre-legislative scrutiny of the Draft Tenant Fees Bill has published their report.  If the Committee’s recommendations are taken on board by the Government, it will mean that the maximum security deposit be capped at five weeks instead of six, and that landlords should not be entitled to keep a holding deposit should the tenant fail a reference check.

David Cox, Chief Executive of ARLA Propertymark, says “We are very pleased to see that the Committee has listened to our concerns … but we are disappointed that agents will be unable to retain the holding deposit should the tenant fail the referencing check. The unintended consequences of this will be that agents only select the very best tenants to avoid any possibility that they may fail referencing.  Ultimately, this will impact vulnerable tenants and families, or those in areas where there are massive supply and demand issues – the very people that the Government are trying to help most with this Bill.”