Jersey's Housing Minister wants landlords investigated for failing to register tenancy deposits

Landlords could be fined £10,000 for failing to put deposits into Jersey's official tenancy scheme. Credit: PA and ITV Channel

Jersey's Housing Minister believes potentially hundreds of local landlords are breaking the law by not putting deposits into an approved and independent tenancy scheme.

Deputy Sam Mézec wants the rules to be enforced as they have been in place since 2015 with fines of up to £10,000 for those who do not comply, but it does not seem like anyone has ever been prosecuted.

States' figures show that between 2020 and 2023, nearly a fifth of deposits submitted to the official Jersey scheme were not done within the agreed 30-day window.

The real number of deposits not even included in the scheme is unknown.

The independent initiative is designed to give tenants greater security and make it easier for them to recover their money at the end of their lease.

It also allows deposits to be kept safe while an independent assessment is carried out if there are any disagreements over damages or rental payments.

ITV News has been told that Attorney General Mark Temple KC, who is responsible for these types of cases, allegedly said prosecuting landlords for this offence does not meet the public interest threshold.

ITV News has contacted the States Greffe about this and did not immediately receive a response.

Deputy Mézec wants a more proactive approach, saying: "It's disappointing that we have evidence lots of landlords aren't putting their tenant's deposits in the scheme within the required time limit and not a lot has been done to enforce that.

"There needs to be a look at why this hasn't been enforced properly because if it isn't, some people will question the value of the scheme at all."

A separate landlord licensing scheme was recently rolled out in Jersey, requiring anyone receiving money for renting out rooms to buy a £60 permit per home and renew it every two years.

Latest figures show that rental income from private households makes up around 16% of the island's economy, only surpassed by financial services that covers 37.5%.

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