Safeguarding Tenants’ Deposits – Tenancy Deposit Schemes
Safeguarding Tenants’ Deposits – Tenancy Deposit Schemes06 March 2019 Written by James & George Collie

cashA tenancy deposit scheme is a scheme - approved by the Scottish Government - provided and operated by an independent third party to hold and protect tenants’ deposits until they fall to be repaid at the end of the tenancy. These schemes will come into operation very soon, advises John Sinclair.

Concerns that some private landlords or letting agents unfairly withhold tenants’ deposits led to provisions in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 allowing Scottish Ministers to bring forward regulations for the approval of tenancy deposit schemes in Scotland. The Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Regulations 2011 came into force on 7 March 2011. These regulations set out the conditions that all schemes must meet before they can be approved by the Scottish Ministers.

Three schemes have been approved by Scottish Ministers and all three will start operating on Monday 2 July 2012. The regulations which impose legal duties on landlords who receive a deposit in connection with a relevant tenancy will also be triggered from 2 July.

The legal duties on landlords are:

(i) to pay deposits to an approved tenancy deposit scheme, and

(ii) to provide the tenant with key information about the tenancy and deposit.

The dates by which landlords must pay deposits to an approved scheme and provide information to the tenant vary, depending on when the deposit was received. Details of these key dates will be published on our website but in the meantime if you are a landlord and have any questions please contact us and we will be delighted to give you the guidance you need.

Most landlords who let privately rented property are required to register with the local authority in which the property is situated. Every landlord who receives a deposit, and who is required to register in the local authority register of landlords (in accordance with the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004) must comply with the Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Regulations 2011. This includes landlords of assured and short assured tenancies, university accommodation and various other types of occupancy arrangement.

Landlords must comply with the regulations and there are sanctions for non-compliance. A tenant can apply to a sheriff for a financial penalty to be imposed on a landlord if the landlord fails to submit deposits to an approved scheme and/or provide information to the tenant. Where satisfied that a landlord has not complied, a sheriff can order the landlord to pay the tenant up to three times the deposit. The sheriff has a discretion as to the amount of any financial penalty to be applied.

The schemes will be free in the sense that there will be no charge for tenants, landlords or letting agents to join a scheme. Additionally every approved scheme will provide a free service to resolve disagreements over the return of deposits as an alternative to taking legal action through the courts.

The introduction of these schemes will have a significant impact on the current practice of landlords and their letting agents in relation to tenants’ deposits and hence it is important that both are fully aware of the obligations imposed by the regulations and also the rights of tenants.

For further information or guidance please contact John Sinclair by telephone on 01224 581581 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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