Changes to Non Assured Shorthold Tenancies

At present an Assured Shorthold Tenancy covers rents up to £25,000 per annum (up to £2083 per month), but as of the 1st October 2010 any Tenancy with an annual rent between £25,000 and £100,000 in existence will automatically become as Assured Shorthold Tenancy overnight.
This change will parachute all of the rights and responsibilities of the Housing Act 1988 onto tenancies – as well as having to protect deposits for the first time. Failure to have them protected on the 1st October could be in breach of the law and the courts are being forewarned.
The changes are receiving mixed reviews, some are saying that changes in the law is one thing but to change the terms of agreed contracts is another, whilst tenants whose rents have been in the higher bracket are welcoming the mandatory protection of their deposits.
Failure to protect a deposit means a landlord must pay back three times the deposit held to the tenant and the landlord will not be able to issue a valid Section 21 Notice, which in the event a tenant is taken to court, the proceedings would be dismissed.
Of course anything could change, the present Government have been known for U-turns and if a different party is elected in May then anything could happen!