Since 2012, landlords in Scotland have been required to lodge security deposits in one of three approved tenancy deposit schemes. Landlords should by now be well aware of their obligations to lodge deposits within 30 working days and to provide tenants with specific information relating to the tenancy and the deposit. The scheme is regulated by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2011.

On 11 November 2019 the Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2019 made a number of changes to the 2011 provisions. Perhaps, the most significant change is the new requirement for the scheme administrator to notify tenants of their potential claim against a landlord for failure to lodge a deposit or provide the specified information.

The new rules provide that where a landlord paid the deposit late and seeks to make deductions from the deposit, the scheme administrator must notify the tenant of the sanctions available against a landlord. The only exception to this requirement is where the landlord proposes to return the deposit in full to the tenant. Landlords who have failed to comply with the scheme rules will now require to consider the risks versus the benefits of making a claim against the deposit.

In terms of other changes, there is now NO requirement to pay a tenancy deposit into an approved scheme where a private residential tenancy is brought to an end and the full amount of the tenancy deposit received by the landlord is returned to the tenant by the landlord within 30 working days of the beginning of the tenancy.

Where the landlord and the tenant have agreed that the deposit can be paid by instalments, the requirement is that the landlord must pay each instalment of the deposit to the scheme and provide the tenant with confirmation of the cumulative amount of the tenancy deposit within 30 working days of receipt.

For more information on tenancy deposits or on any aspect of private rented sector, feel free to contact our team.