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The Guardian
2 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Rental deposit scheme ‘puts millions in the pockets of landlords'
The official deposit scheme for renters is 'putting millions in unscrupulous landlords' pockets', campaigners have said. Almost half (46%) of renters said they did not know they could challenge deposit deductions they deemed to be unfair. Only 4% have used the formal dispute resolution process to try to reclaim the money. Dan Wilson Craw of Generation Rent, the campaign group which conducted the research, said the system was 'failing renters who are put off from challenging unfair deductions by unclear rules, and threats and delaying tactics from landlords'. He added: 'Ultimately, that puts millions more in unscrupulous landlords' pockets. The uncertain timescales and unclear rules of the deposit system, as well as obstructiveness and threats from some landlords, mean that accepting unfair deductions to get some cash back quickly can feel like the better option.' The research, based on a nationally representative survey of 2,000 private renters, found that a quarter of tenants who did not challenge unfair deductions said their landlord either threatened to make a larger claim if they raised a dispute, refused to take part in the adjudication process or had not protected the deposit in the first place. Data from one deposit protection scheme, TDS, showed that 77% of tenants got some of their disputed deposit back and 32% got all of it back. Generation Rent analysis found tenants who disputed deductions won 79% of the disputed money back on average. 'Because challenging deposit deductions is usually worth it, renters put off from doing so are losing hundreds of pounds of their own money,' said Wilson Craw. 'The government's review of deposit protection is an opportunity to build trust in the system so tenants have the confidence to challenge unfair landlord claims.' Landlords must legally put a tenant's deposit in a government-approved tenancy deposit scheme. There is a free dispute resolution service for tenants who disagree with their landlord on how much deposit should be returned. Ministers have said they were reviewing the system and 'identifying areas for improvement'. Generation Rent said it wanted to see a 14-day deadline for deposits to be returned at the end of a tenancy and landlords to be legally compelled to take part in a dispute resolution if a tenant pursued it, with disputes resolved within 10 days. It also said landlords and agents who broke the rules, or made repeated excessive deductions, should face 'meaningful penalties'. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been contacted for comment.
The Guardian
06-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Britain has one of most difficult voter registration processes, report finds
The UK has one of the most difficult voter registration processes among liberal democracies, according to research that examined 62 countries. Requirements to actively register to vote, meet strict deadlines before polling day and cast a ballot at specific polling stations make the UK a 'real outlier internationally', academics at the University of Manchester found. Labour has been weighing up proposals to introduce automatic voter registration as part of a democracy bill before the next election. Currently, people in the UK need to register if they want to vote, but under automatic registration the electoral roll would be compiled automatically from other records, for example those linked to tax or passport data. Campaigners say the change would enfranchise millions more people, especially those who are younger, poorer and live in privately rented homes. The requirement to bring voter ID to the polling station, which was introduced by the Conservatives, has been criticised for introducing an extra barrier to voting. The Manchester researchers found that of 28 liberal democracies, the UK, Ireland and Barbados were the countries where it was most difficult to register to vote. Maria Sobolewska, a professor of political science at the University of Manchester, said: 'International evidence clearly shows that our voter registration system in the UK is unusually difficult for the voter. This contributes to the unequal levels of democratic participation we see at elections. Making registration automatic or automated is easily the most urgent reform to our election laws.' Countries where voters are registered automatically using records from government databases include Iceland, Argentina and South Korea. Separate research by the campaign group Generation Rent estimated that 91% of UK private renters aged 16 or over – more than 8.5 million people – could benefit from automatic voter registration. Just 65% of renters are accurately registered at present, according to Electoral Commission data. Only 39% of people who have lived in their home for less than a year are correctly registered on the electoral roll, compared with 95% for those who have lived in their home for 16 years or more. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Dan Wilson Craw, the deputy chief executive of Generation Rent, said: 'Frequent house moves, often prompted by evictions, put private renters at a disadvantage in the UK's electoral system. This is exacerbated by the extra difficulty of registering to vote compared with similar democracies. As a result, private renters can struggle to be heard at the ballot box.' As part of its plans for a democracy bill, Labour is also examining potential changes to the system of political donations. The party made a manifesto promise to lower the voting age to 16, which Keir Starmer recommitted to at a committee hearing last month. Voter turnout in the 2024 general election was 59.7% and has not reached 70% in any election since 1997. A report by the Institute for Public Policy Research last year found that when accounting for people not registered on the electoral roll, just 52% of adults living in the UK had exercised their right to vote, the lowest proportion since universal suffrage was introduced.
