SafeDeposits Scotland Blog

One of the most common reasons that people come to Shelter Scotland for help with is disputes between tenants and landlords. These represented 10% of all the cases we saw in 2016-17, and 20% of the cases from people who live in the private rented sector (PRS). Even more staggeringly, 46% of all the people who came to us for help were living in the PRS - a group that only makes up 14% of all households in Scotland. So, what can you do, as a tenant, to ensure...Read More

At SafeDeposits Scotland, we regularly analyse the data we hold to take the temperature of the private rented sector and to look out for trends. We recently looked at where landlords were in relation to the properties they rented and noticed an interesting pattern. Since SafeDeposits was founded in 2012, there has been a dramatic increase in landlords living in England and renting property in Scotland. In 2012, 260 landlords based in England registered deposits on Scottish tenancies,...Read More

Who is liable for damage will be dependent on whether there is one tenancy agreement signed by everyone or if each of the tenants sign separate tenancy agreements. If you're yet to move in you should contact your agent/landlord to find out which one of these will be relevant to your tenancy. Joint tenancy agreements If you sign a joint tenancy agreement with other people, you're all liable for each other's actions during that tenancy. The contract is signed by everyone and...Read More

If you're renting somewhere to live from a private landlord or letting agent and pay them a deposit, your money should be protected with a tenancy deposit scheme. This includes if you've moved somewhere new for college or university and are renting while you're a student. The landlord or letting agent will usually ask you to pay a deposit before you move in, then they legally have to transfer your money to a tenancy deposit scheme within 30 working days of the tenancy start date. The...Read More

With many people finishing up for the Christmas holidays, you might plan on having guests to stay while you're off - but if you rent your home, do you need to ask your landlord for permission? Your tenancy agreement should have a clause which explains any conditions related to guests. For example, your tenancy agreement might say that you're allowed to have a guest stay for two weeks, but after this period you will need written permission from the landlord to allow them to...Read More

With New Year next weekend, we thought we'd take a moment to reflect on the results of our landlord and letting agent and tenant feedback surveys results from 2017. Tenant feedback survey We started with our tenant feedback survey back in July, receiving an astonishing 2924 responses in only two weeks. We're pleased to report that 86% of tenants confirmed they had received a welcome email or letter from SafeDeposits, which confirms their deposit is protected and includes a...Read More