Tenancy Deposit Scheme (Hansard, 27 November 2003)

§ Mr. Jim Cunningham
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what assessment he has made of(a) the estimated total number of disputes requiring adjudication under a tenancy deposit scheme and (b) the estimated costs of those procedures.[142827]

§ Keith Hill
The estimated maximum number of disputes is 127,000 per year. Extrapolating from jurisdications which have compulsory deposit schemes, the figure is 19,000 per year. On the second part of the question, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 8 December,Official Report, column 350W.

§ Mr. Jim Cunningham
To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what his latest estimate is of(a) the rate of alleged unreasonable withholding of deposits by landlords or agencies and (b) the cost of their retrieval.[142828]

§ Keith Hill
On the first part of the question, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. Friend the Member for Gower (Mr. Caton) on 10 November,Official Report, column 164W.
On the second part of the question, I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given on 8 December 2003, Official Report, column 350W.