#AskTDS: “What makes TDSNI different?”
TDSNI's #AskTDS blog series answers a tenant, landlord or agent’s question. This week Eamonn Hunt, Operations Manager at Tenancy Deposit Scheme Northern Ireland (TDSNI) answers an agent’s question: “What makes TDSNI different?”
All tenancy deposits paid on or after 1st April 2013 for a private tenancy must be protected with an approved tenancy deposit protection scheme. Since launching in Northern Ireland in 2013, TDSNI has developed and refined its customer service and improved online processing to provide a self-service website.
But what makes TDSNI different?
TDS Northern Ireland (TDSNI) is a subsidiary of The Dispute Service (operating as Tenancy Deposit Scheme – TDS), a not-for-profit company operating in England and Wales, and is a key partner in SafeDeposits Scotland.
TDS was the original Tenancy Deposit Scheme in England and Wales, and launched TDSNI when tenancy deposit protection (TDP) became mandatory in Northern Ireland. It has since made a name for itself with its excellent customer service levels, technical advances and industry training with the TDSNI Academy.
The experience and knowledge of deposit protection has made TDSNI the leading scheme in the country.
TDSNI - the only not-for-profit TDP scheme
TDSNI is the only not-for-profit provider in Northern Ireland, meaning that any surplus profit can be invested into continued improvements in customer service levels.
TDSNI’s not-for-profit model has allowed us to invest in discovering and closing gaps in customer service. For example, the scheme introduced “Bulk Upload of Deposits” for TDSNI Custodial members to allow agents to add details of multiple deposits simultaneously. This feature was regularly requested by users of our Custodial scheme and is just one of the many improvements we have made to create a more streamlined and efficient service.
Educators within the sector
The TDSNI team attends numerous landlord, agent and tenant events throughout the year, illustrating our commitment to educating landlords, agents and tenants on their responsibilities relating to deposit protection.
Our experience within the sector is unrivalled and has allowed TDSNI to offer highly-rated training courses for agents, landlords and industry professionals with our TDSNI Academy. The Academy seeks to improve the knowledge of deposit protection requirements with the Foundation Course and Adjudication Workshop.
Commitment to Customer Service levels
TDSNI is proud of its call and e-mail answering times and boasts that calls are answered within 30 seconds and emails responded to within just a few hours. We are keen to promote transparency within our industry and release an annual report containing our call and email answering times, dispute resolution times as well as other key business statistics, providing customers with clarity on how we operate and continue to improve year on year.
How do I become a member of TDSNI?
Joining TDSNI is quick and easy. We have a team, based in Belfast, on-hand to make the move seamless. If you are a letting agent or landlord, get in touch at 0300 037 3700 or info@tdsnorthernireland.com.
You can find out more about both schemes in our blog and join TDSNI at: https://www.tdsnorthernireland.com
About the Author
Eamonn has over 13 years in estate agency experience dealing with residential lettings, sales, and management. He joined TDS Northern Ireland in April 2013 with the scope to promote and provide a leading tenancy deposit protection scheme.
Based in the Belfast office, Eamonn provides a direct contact point for customers.
About TDSNI:
Tenancy Deposit Scheme Northern Ireland (TDSNI) is a government-approved scheme for the protection of tenancy deposits; TDS offers both Insured and Custodial protection and also provides fair adjudication for disputes that arise over the tenancy deposits that we protect.
We provide invaluable training in tenancy deposit protection and disputes for agents and landlords through the TDS Academy as well as joining with MOL to provide the Technical Award in Residential Tenancy Deposits.
TDS Northern Ireland: TDS is Northern Ireland's leading and only not-for-profit tenancy deposit protection scheme.
TDSNI Academy: TDS provides property professionals with invaluable training in tenancy deposit protection and tenancy deposit disputes.
TDS can only comment on the process for our scheme, other deposit protection schemes may have a different process/require different steps. Content is correct at the time of writing.
These views are those of the author alone and do not necessarily reflect the view of TDS, its officers and employees.