#ExpertView: A round-up of reports funded by the TDS Charitable Foundation

The Foundation was established by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) in 2014 to support projects that champion best practice in the PRS and to promote education and information to raise standards in the industry.

It provides funding for organisations that meet the Foundation’s aims of promoting knowledge of landlords’ obligations and tenants’ rights & responsibilities.

Over the last two years, leading property expert Kate Faulkner has been commissioned to produce 12 research reports by the Foundation, looking into various aspects of the private rented sector.

Kate runs Propertychecklists.com and consultancy, Designs on Property, and regularly features as a property commentator in the media.

The Foundation is funded by donations from The Dispute Service (TDS), the leading tenancy deposit scheme which operates on a not-for-profit basis across the UK.

While the TDS Charitable Foundation funds the reports, Kate retains editorial control and the opinions expressed in the report do not necessarily reflect the views of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) or the TDS Charitable Foundation.

Here, we take a look back at her reports – a valuable resource for landlords, letting agents and tenants. 

1. Who are the individual landlords providing private rented accommodation?
2. The impact of accidental landlords on the private rented sector
3. What impact is enforcement of rules and regulations having on the private rented sector?
4. How do we stamp out damp, condensation and mould in the private rented sector?
5. How can conflicts between tenants, landlords and letting agents be reduced?
6. What tenants need to do to rent
7. What are the real legal requirements and costs of letting a property, and how can we communicate them better to landlords and tenants?
8. What levels of return do buy-to-let investors expect and need their property investment to deliver, when and how?
9. Has the private rented sector grown because people want to rent or because they cannot afford to buy?
10. Motivating landlords and tenants on their rights and responsibilities
11. What do parents buying a property for their children’s student accommodation need to know? Would they be better off using bespoke student accommodation instead?
12. Communicating new EPC rules to landlords and tenants 

Find out more about the TDS Charitable Foundation here: http://tdsfoundation.org.uk/ 

About the author

Kelly Wallace has been part of The Tenancy Deposit Scheme for five years, initially within the Dispute Resolution team, progressing to a central role within the Customer Relations department and now the Senior Business Development Executive. Kelly’s focus within TDS is membership, business development and growth; this encompasses all aspects of new business across both the Insured and Custodial schemes. Alongside her role with TDS, she is also the TDS Charitable Foundation Coordinator. 

About TDS

Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) is a government-approved scheme for the protection of tenancy deposits; TDS offers both Insured and Custodial protection and also provides fair adjudication for disputes that arise over the tenancy deposits that we protect.

We provide invaluable training in tenancy deposit protection and disputes for agents and landlords through the TDS Academy as well as joining with MOL to provide the Technical Award in Residential Tenancy Deposits.

TDS Insured Scheme: where a TDS member can hold the tenancy deposits as stakeholder during the term of the tenancy.

TDS Custodial Scheme: where TDS hold the deposit for the duration of the tenancy.

TDS Academy: TDS provides property professionals with invaluable training in tenancy deposit protection and tenancy deposit disputes.

TDS Northern Ireland: TDS is Northern Ireland's leading and only not for profit tenancy deposit protection scheme.

TDS can only comment on the process for our scheme, other deposit protection schemes may have a different process/require different steps. Content is correct at the time of writing.

These views are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the view of TDS, its officers and employees.

ARLA|Propertymark: For agents who would like to stay up to date, you can contact Propertymark | ARLA at: join@propertymark.com. By being a member of Propertymark | ARLA you will be eligible for TDS Insured best headline rates.

RLA: If you are a landlord and would like to keep up to date with any changes that may affect you or your responsibilities, you can contact the RLA at: info@rla.org.uk and quote reference: dg715 to receive 25% off your first year's membership.