PRESS RELEASE

David Cox, Chief Executive, ARLA Propertymark comments on the Housing Secretary’s announcement for deposit passporting in the private rented sector: “We’re supportive of this concept in principle, but it needs a practical, workable solution. We’ve been sitting on MHCLG’s Tenancy Deposit Protection Working Group for the last 12 months, looking at the problem and finding answers. Significant progress has been made, and we think we’re close to a practical, implementable solution; but we’re not quite there yet. For deposit passporting to work we need to ensure that both the outgoing landlord’s deposit can be used if needed, while the incoming landlord has certainty they will get the full deposit they have agreed by the tenant. Affordability for tenants of any bridging loan or insurance policy will be key if deposit passporting is going to be a workable and affordable solution for the future of deposits.”