Students are being reminded of the laws in place to protect them as they seek accommodation ahead of the new academic year.
All private landlords letting residential property in Northern Ireland must be registered with the Landlord Registration Scheme.
Landlords are also required to protect tenants’ deposits, received after 1 April 2013, in an approved tenancy deposit scheme.
They must also, within 28 days of receiving the deposit, notify the tenant of how the deposit has been protected.
If after 28 days of handing over your deposit you have not received information about how it has been protected you should report this immediately to your council environmental health department.
A landlord who does not register may face a fixed penalty of £500 or a court fine of up to £2,500.
A landlord who does not protect a tenants deposit may face a fixed penalty of three times the amount of the deposit or a court fine of up to £20,000.
You can check if your landlord is registered by visiting the Landlord Registration Scheme(external link opens in a new window / tab) where you can search by a landlord’s name or the address of the property.
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