The Deposit Guarantee Scheme is a key component of our core service.  Many of our clients do not have the financial means to provide a deposit to a landlord.  Because of our long term relationships with landlords and the support we can provide to them, most of our landlords accept a deposit guarantee bond from Rentstart in lieu of a cash deposit.  This means that the client can move in without a cash deposit in hand.   Rentstart encourages clients in these situations to start saving for a deposit so that when they are ready to move on, they have that ready.

While Rentstart is liable to pay claims from landlords up to the amount of the deposit in cases where there are arrears or damage, we do not have to lay the cash out upfront and the cash is not sitting idly in a tenant deposit account.   Landlords and clients know that Rentstart is there if they experience problems with the tenants so issues are flagged up early which usually means they can be resolved before it becomes a situation where a deposit claim is needed.  Because of our collaborative working with landlords and the support provided to tenants, our claim level is quite low which is a testimony to the hard work of our staff and volunteers.

One example was a client whose benefits were stopped.  It turned out they had received a letter about the benefits but didn’t understand it so ignored it.  The first time no rent was paid, the landlord contacted Rentstart.  A staff member talked to the client and worked with them and the benefits office to resolve the problem and get the missed payments made.  This meant there were no arrears so no issue for the landlord and the tenancy was able to continue so stability for the client.