The Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2015 provides for, among other things, the establishment of a tenancy deposit protection scheme to be operated by the Residential Tenancies Board.
The Government is fully committed to the principle of ensuring effective protection of deposits. However, I am examining the current legislative provisions to take account of the changed circumstances since the scheme was first envisaged and determine what modifications and improvements should be made to ensure that the scheme, when introduced, can operate effectively and efficiently.
I am aware of the issue of some landlords charging more than one month’s deposit which has been raised on a number of occasions recently. The setting in legislation of a limit on the level of deposit that a landlord may require is also being considered in the context of the examination of the deposit protection scheme mentioned above.