Custodial Tenancy Deposit Scheme

The Custodial Scheme was introduced in the Housing Act 2004, which made it mandatory that where a deposit is taken it is appropriately safeguarded by way of tenancy deposit protection schemes and for the establishment of dispute resolution procedures to provide for quick access to justice. These arrangements apply to all assured shorthold tenancies. The requirement covers the management and administration of the Custodial Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme including: - creating new business and, for the Legacy Pool, transitioning and managing the existing deposits from the current provider; - having in place a robust IT infrastructure capable of storing a large amount of data; - providing a secure and reliable method of holding deposits; - returning the deposit to tenants at the end of the tenancy; - providing an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) service to settle disputes between tenants and landlords/agents. The Service Provider will be required to generate enough interest on deposits to cover their costs. Ideally, they will also be able to generate sufficient interest on deposits to also pay a level of interest to tenants. The Service Provider will also be expected to ensure that the Scheme can operate successfully in both England and Wales. The Agreement will be for an initial period of 5 years to 31/03/2021, with an option to extend for 2 years, and then a further option to extend for an additional 1 year. Deadline for submission of proposals is Friday 24th April 2015, 17:00. Interested suppliers should register with the Bravo Solution e-tendering portal (https://communities.bravosolution.co.uk) in order to access the full set of tender documents and submit a proposal. Guidance on how to register is attached.