Scope: Scotland. Cited to Scottish instruments throughout. Scottish deposits are governed by the Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Regulations 2011, made under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006. The English Housing Act 2004 deposit provisions do not apply.
Our compliance check now covers Scotland, and so does the fine calculator. Enter a Scottish postcode and both answer in Scots law, cited to Scottish instruments — the check with your council’s registration and HMO position where we hold it, the calculator with the Scottish maximum for each offence and, where the consequence is not a fine, what it actually is. Still England and Wales only: the tenancy agreement checker, whose findings come from England and Wales statutes.
The duty
A landlord who receives a tenancy deposit must pay it into an approved scheme and provide the tenant with prescribed information. Both must happen within 30 working days of the tenancy starting.
Working days, not calendar days. This is the detail that catches landlords who have let in England, where the window is expressed differently. Over a period containing bank holidays the two measures diverge by weeks — and the Scottish window is the one that applies to a Scottish property. Count weekends and public holidays out.
The three approved schemes
Scotland has its own approved schemes, and they are custodial: the scheme holds the money for the duration of the tenancy. There is no insured option of the kind that exists elsewhere, so a Scottish landlord does not keep the deposit.
- SafeDeposits Scotland
- Letting Protection Service Scotland
- mydeposits Scotland
Use one of the approved schemes. Paying into an English scheme, or holding the money yourself, does not comply.
The prescribed information
Paying the money over is only half of it. The landlord must also tell the tenant, in the terms the Regulations prescribe:
- the amount of the deposit and the date it was received;
- the date it was paid into the scheme, and which scheme;
- the address of the property;
- the landlord’s registration number under landlord registration, or confirmation that an application has been made;
- the circumstances in which all or part of the deposit may be retained, by reference to the tenancy terms.
A landlord who lodges the deposit on time but never provides the information has still not complied.
How much you can take
A tenancy deposit may not exceed two months’ rent. A larger sum is not simply capped — taking it is a breach.
The sanction
A tenant may apply to the First-tier Tribunal where the landlord has not complied. If the Tribunal is satisfied the landlord did not comply, it must order payment to the tenant of an amount not exceeding three times the deposit.
Two things to note about that:
- The order is not discretionary as to whether — only as to how much, up to the three-times ceiling. Late compliance does not remove the exposure.
- An application can be made after the tenancy has ended, within the period the Regulations allow. Getting the deposit back to the tenant at the end does not close the point.
At the end of the tenancy
Either party applies to the scheme for repayment. Where the parties disagree, the scheme’s free dispute resolution service adjudicates and the money is released according to that decision. Deductions have to be evidenced — an inventory taken at the start, with dated photographs, is what an adjudicator actually weighs.
Getting the sequence right
- Be registered before you let, because your registration number goes in the prescribed information.
- Take no more than two months’ rent as a deposit.
- Lodge it with an approved scheme within 30 working days of the tenancy start.
- Serve the prescribed information within the same window.
- Keep proof of both, and of the inventory.
Information tool, not legal advice. Scottish law only.