Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act 2015

71.

Designated tenancy deposit account

71. The Principal Act is amended by inserting the following sections after section 177:

“177A. (1) The Board shall cause to be maintained one or more bank accounts for the purpose of holding deposits transmitted to it in accordance with this Act (in this Act referred to as a ‘designated tenancy deposit account’) for the purpose of the performance by it of its functions under paragraph (ba) of section 151(1).

(2) The Board shall cause to be retained in a designated tenancy deposit account all of the following:

(a) a deposit transmitted to it in accordance with this Act;

(b) interest that accrues on such designated tenancy deposit account until the interest is withdrawn in accordance with section 177B.

(3) The Board shall cause a deposit transmitted to it under section 134(3A) to be lodged into a designated tenancy deposit account as soon as practicable following such transmission.

(4) The Board shall not cause to be withdrawn any sum from a designated tenancy deposit account unless the withdrawal—

(a) is for the purpose of returning a specified deposit to one or both parties in accordance with this Act, or

(b) is made in respect of withdrawing interest under section 177B.

(5) Without prejudice to section 177, the Board shall cause records of all deposits transmitted to it and lodged in a designated tenancy deposit account to be maintained and shall cause such records to be maintained in a manner that permits a deposit held in a designated tenancy deposit account to be, at all times, attributable to the landlord who transmitted it to the Board and the tenancy to which, and tenant to whom, it relates.

(6) For the avoidance of doubt—

(a) references in section 177(1) to income and expenditure shall include the income and expenditure arising from the performance by the Board of its functions under paragraphs (ba) and (bb) of section 151(1), and

(b) references in section 178(1) to books or other records of account shall include books or other records of account relating to designated tenancy deposit accounts and accounts referred to in section 177(3A)(c).

177B. (1) The Board shall, for the purposes of the withdrawal of moneys representing the interest which has accrued on a designated tenancy deposit account, direct the manner in which, and the times at which, interest that has accrued on a designated tenancy deposit account is to be withdrawn from that account and placed in a bank account referred to in subsection (2).

(2) The Board shall cause to be maintained one or more bank accounts for the purpose of holding interest that is withdrawn from a designated tenancy deposit account for the purpose of the performance by it of its functions under section 151(1)(bb).

(3) For the purposes of the performance of its functions under section 151(1)(bb), the Board may, subject to section 177A(4), withdraw the moneys, representing the interest which has accrued on a designated tenancy deposit account, from a designated tenancy deposit account.”.