New tenancy deposit replacement product launches – with tenants charged nothing

Another tenancy deposit replacement product has been launched – this time as part of a landlord’s insurance package.

Unlike other offerings, the tenant themselves do not have to pay either a deposit or an insurance-backed replacement. All they will have to pay is the rent itself.

Property Protect has been launched by property management business Rushbrook & Rathbone, and has been authorised by the FCA.

It includes tenant referencing, including ongoing monitoring of tenants’ credit-worthiness; rent and legal protection; property damage protection; and no deposit protection.

Agents will be paid referral fees for introducing landlords to Property Protect, and can expect to earn between £9 and £15 per policy.

The typical cost to the landlord is £30 per month for properties bringing in monthly rent of up to £1,000, and £40 per month for properties with monthly rents between £1,001 and £2.500.

The product has launched ahead of next year’s tenant fee ban, which will make it illegal to charge tenants for referencing, inventories and admin costs.

Roma Shama, head of product and business development at Rushbrook & Rathbone, said: “There is a concern that when landlords can no longer ask tenants to cover their own referencing, some landlords may be tempted to do it themselves or simply not bother at all.”

She said that the new Property Protect also solved tenants’ biggest problem when moving into a new home – finding money upfront for a deposit or replacement product.

She said: “We believe this will be very appealing to a lot of tenants, but crucially there is no risk to the landlord.

“Packaging the four most important protection elements together significantly reduces moving in costs for landlords and tenants, meaning tenants can move in more quickly and landlords can reduce void periods.

“We also hope it offers an attractive proposition to those professional and responsible landlords who don’t want to cut corners.”

https://formsreturn.com/forms/internal/protectingyourproperty.pdf

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One Comment

  1. Simonr6608

    New tenancy deposit replacement product launches – with tenants charged nothing

    So where is the incentive for the tenant to look after the house. If its a landlord based insurance all the landlord will do is increase the rent to cover the cost so the tenant will end up paying in the long run.

     

     

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