#ExpertView: TDS Academy Foundation Course
A TDS member contacted us recently with a conundrum - how to give new staff members, some of whom were new to the lettings industry, a ‘crash course’ on tenancy deposit protection. So far so good – but they also wanted their colleagues to meet other letting agents and be able to compare experiences.
The TDS Academy Foundation Course is the obvious solution. A regular regional event, it’s open to letting agents and landlords, whether they are TDS members or not. Inventory clerks also often attend, keen to get our ‘take’ on check-in and check-out reports. A mixed audience is perfect for picking brains!
The course covers the ‘life’ of a deposit from first receiving it through to tenancy end. We look at the traps it’s easy to fall into when taking deposits and top tips for avoiding the statutory penalty.
When it comes to returning deposits, we know the things that go wrong right at the start of a tenancy, which make deposit deductions more difficult. We also know the arguments that arise most frequently in deposit disputes. The course is great for helping you prepare for them and seeing how others do it too. Ideally of course we want to prevent disputes and resolve them quickly where they do arise - so we also include great tools for negotiating deposit deductions.
You can find out all the details of our TDS Academy Foundation Course and book a place, on our website.
We look forward to seeing you at one of our events soon!
About the author:
Michael Morgan is the Tenancy Deposit Scheme’s Director of Dispute Resolution. Having trained as a solicitor, Michael has been involved in dispute resolution for over 20 years. His previous roles have included leading the consumer advice service for Hertfordshire Trading Standards; Michael was also the Chief Conciliation Officer for Qualitas, the Furniture Ombudsman, where he took a formative role in its transition to Ombudsman status.
Michael joined TDS in 2006 as a Deputy Independent Case Examiner. He is now responsible for the overall management of its dispute resolution services and the quality of its adjudication functions. Michael has also led a number of key ‘behind the scenes’ innovations at TDS.
Michael has been selected as a judge for the UK Complaint Handling Awards 2017 complaintsawards.co.uk
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 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.