The Scottish Government recently conducted a review of the operation of the tenancy deposit schemes and has decided to make amendments to the legislation. The amendments of relevance to landlords are:
1) Landlords will no longer be required to lodge deposits with a scheme if the tenancy is ended and the deposit returned to the tenant in full within 30 working days of the tenancy commencing. This avoids the need to lodge deposits for very short tenancies. However, if the landlord wishes to make deductions from the deposit then it must first be lodged with a scheme.
2) Where both parties agree that the deposit can be paid in instalments during the tenancy, each instalment must be paid to a scheme within 30 working days of it being paid to the landlord. The landlord must provide the tenant with the prescribed information (regulation 42) notice detailing the total amount of deposit paid to date within 30 working days of each instalment being paid. Previously the deposit scheme regulations didn’t cover how deposit instalments should be treated so this amendment clears up a previously grey area.
These amendments will come into force on 11 November 2019.
