Tenants to have deposits secured under new government rules

A national scheme for safeguarding rent deposits is to be introduced in Scotland, the housing and communities minister Alex Neil announced last week.

The scheme introduces a third party who hold the deposit throughout a tenancy and acts as an independent arbiter during disputes between tenants and landlords.

The minister said it was “time to take strong action” to protect tenants, and support the many landlords who do deal with deposits fairly.

It aims to reduce the number of wrongly withheld deposits, speed up deposit returns, ensure funds are available at the end of the tenancy, and when there is a dispute, ensure that the amount returned is determined in a fair way.

Mr Neil said: “When deposits are unfairly withheld, it can cause hardship and misery for the tenant and, in some cases, affect their ability to secure another tenancy.”

He continued: “We know that in many cases it is students and vulnerable tenants who are affected, and this is an absolute tragedy—these are the very people who can least afford to be treated in this way”.

Liam Burns, National Union of Students (NUS) Scotland president said: “Students across Scotland are delighted that the Scottish Government is acting to protect their tenancy deposits. Unfairly withheld deposits are one of the biggest issues for students living in the private rented sector.

“Alex Neil and the Scottish government deserve praise for taking this decision, but without the support we've had across the parliament, and the hard work of students and tenants' groups over a number of years, such as Shelter Scotland, this wouldn't have been possible."

Ian Potter, operations manager for the Association of Residential Letting Agents (ARLA) said: "Safeguarding tenants and their welfare is paramount to the property sector and we have long advocated the introduction of a deposit protection scheme in Scotland.

"There has been much discussion around this and it is good that talk has translated into action."

Graeme Brown, director of Shelter Scotland, a housing and homelessness charity, welcomed the move, saying: "With estimates of the amount of money unfairly withheld each year running into millions, Scotland is clearly in need of a way to protect tenant's deposits.

“We're delighted the Scottish government has listened to the problems faced by tenants and welcome the chance to help develop an effective scheme”.

The announcement was followed by the launch of "Student Hardship Help is Priceless", a campaign for an array of student support initiatives.

The Labour shadow minister for higher education and universities, Claire Baker, who kicked off the e-petition called on the Scottish government to allocate the bulk of its student support funding to relief for poorer students.