Having left our rented accommodation over a month and a half ago, we still have not got our deposit back. In this article I look at the new tenancy deposit scheme and your rights as a tenant.

So is the TDS tedious? In short yes. Although the scheme is designed to help protect both the landlord and the tenant is does not exactly make the process quick or easy far from it. The process is complicated and long winded.

Our deposit was/is protected by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS)

How long until I get my deposit back?

The time frame for the return of your deposit should be outlined in your tenancy agreement.

There are then three possible scenarios with in this time frame:

1. Your landlord agrees to the return of your deposit. Brilliant!
2. You landlord brings a claim within the given time frame. You can then dispute this and if after a specified time (this should also be in your tenancy agreement) it has not been resolved you need to bring the dispute up with the TDS.
3. Your landlord does not agree to the return of your deposit because either

a) you can not get hold of him but you have a forwarding address or

b) you can not get hold of them and they have no forwarding address.

In case a) after the given time frame you must then fill in form 2 on the website and bring a dispute against the landlord http://www.thedisputeservice.co.uk/index.php?p=12

When carrying out a conversion or extension in order to sell the property, think carefully about how to use the space and what a buyer would look for. As always, if the house is going up for sale, use clean neutral colours that will appeal to most tastes. It is often the case that you are able to put in a shower or bath room in a loft conversion. When putting in a bathroom, location of the soil pipe might be a deciding factor in the positioning of the bathroom; these often have to be at the back of the house due to drainage. You also need to think about whether the current heating and electrical system will be able to cope with the extra space.

It is also important to think about other issues such as fire regulations, planning regulations and third party wall agreements. These should be discussed with your builder before carrying out the work.  Access to the area to be converted will also need to be considered carefully. These projects often cause a huge deal of disruption, especially basement conversions where normally an entire room will need to be disrupted to enable the builders to dig down.

For an approximate post conversion value of your property, it is worth working out the local price per square foot of the property and multiplying that by the additional square footage that will be added. You can also get an idea of value from local houses that have been sold with and without the conversions.

Top Tips For Conversions

• Do make sure that you have contacted your relevant local authority for planning permission.
• Do contact professionals. There are a lot of things to consider when performing a conversion; structurally, electrically etc.
• Do make sure that you have budgeted carefully for the expenditure and allow a margin for any unexpected hitches.
• Do make sure you check fire requirements with your builder to make sure you will meet them.
• Do check whether you need a third party wall agreement
• Do plan for the disruption.
• Don’t rush decisions; this is an important investment and factors need to be considered carefully.