[F1Tenancy deposit schemesN.I.
5A—(1) The Department may by regulations make provision for securing that one or more tenancy deposit schemes are available for the purpose of safeguarding tenancy deposits paid in connection with private tenancies.
(2) A “tenancy deposit scheme” is a scheme which is made for the purpose of safeguarding tenancy deposits paid in connection with private tenancies and facilitating the resolution of disputes arising in connection with such deposits.
(3) Regulations under paragraph (1)—
(a)must provide for the appointment of a body or person (“the scheme administrator”) to establish and maintain a scheme of a prescribed description;
(b)must provide that a scheme or an amendment to a scheme does not come into force unless approved by the Department;
(c)may confer or impose on the scheme administrator such powers or duties in connection with a scheme as are prescribed;
(d)may provide for information held by a scheme administrator to be disclosed to prescribed persons for prescribed purposes.
(4) The Department may make payments to a scheme administrator.
(5) In this Article and Article 5B—
“money” means money in the form of cash or otherwise;
“tenancy deposit”, in relation to a private tenancy, means any money intended to be held (by the landlord or otherwise) as security for—
the performance of any obligations of the tenant arising under or in connection with the tenancy, or
the discharge of any liability of the tenant so arising.
(6) In this Article and Article 5B references to a landlord in relation to any private tenancy include references to a person acting on behalf of the landlord in relation to the tenancy.]