Stumbled into it on a site and learned that if a landlord doesn't comply with tenancy deposit protection, a court could order the landlord to repay the deposit and in addition to it, there'll be a penalty of three times the amount of the deposit. Don't know if any landlords here have heard of this but if you have I need some enlightenment. How does tenancy deposit protection work?
Here in the UK, it works by when the tenant pays the landlord the deposit, the landlord doesn't keep hold of it like they used to, they have to send it to a government run scheme and they keep it. When the tenancy ends, the ex tenant then applies to the scheme to get that deposit back, so it's nothing to do with the landlord, meaning they can't choose not to.
It works much the same way here. When you rent a place you give the damage deposit to the landlord. He must register it with the Rentalsmen. When you move, provided there is no damage, the damage deposit is forward to the new landlord. When you are done renting then you can apply to have your damage deposit returned to you.
I don't think we have a tenancy deposit protection in the Philippines or maybe the term is just alien to me. Normally, cases involving minor issues between landlord and tenant is resolved in the Barangay - the local community government handling a small area of a town or city. Usually those cases are resolved amicably otherwise it will be elevated to the court and it will take time, effort and money to resolve, reason enough for both parties to amicably settle their problem in the barangay level.
Yeah, in the USA you have to have a bank account specifically for deposits and that money cannot be touched. You cannot just put it in your normal business or personal checking account.
It's interesting to know this. I've heard of a lot of landlords doing this (use a separate account) but here it's not necessary.
I'm sure most know about it because most don't even want to pay the deposit back in the first place. Let alone triple the amount in penalty.
A lot of landlords will use any excuse they can to keep the deposit. The first apartment my daughter ever had the landlord kept her deposit when she left. He said the place was a mess and he needed to clean it. I know for a fact that it wasn't because I was there helping her when she moved and I cleaned the place myself. The place was spotless and even cleaner then it was when she moved into to. He nickled and dimed every cent. There is not much you can do about it. It was a lesson learned after that she never left an apartment until the landlord looked through it with her before she left. She never had that problem again!
We don't have that kind of agreement here but I think it's a good way to protect the tenant. There are some abusive landlords who refuse to give back deposits just because they have already used up the money. I like the idea that the deposit given will be kept by a legitimate company and it will remain untouched until the tenancy contract ends.
