Tenancy deposit

Tenancy Deposits

I have bought a property that came with a tenancy agreement which will last until 27 Jan 2012. The tenant deposit has been protected by TDS by the previous landlord (i,e. the seller of this property), but the deposit money is physically held by the seller.

I am a member of DPS and has been trying to transfer the deposit to DPS from TDS, but with no luck.

My solicitor is telling me that the deposit will stay with the TDS scheme until the end of the tenancy, while what I learnt from a landlord accreditation class is that I need to protect my tenant's deposit under my scheme within 14 days from which I became the landlord.

Can anyone know if I have the right to collect the deposit from the seller immediately or should I wait for the end of the tenancy? I'm so afraid that I'll lose of my right to evict the tenant as this tenant has not been paying me any rent so far.

I'd appreciate any advise and direction.

Thanks a lot!