SafeDeposits Scotland Blog

SafeDeposits Scotland's operations manager Victoria Nixon answers some of the thornier questions posed to the team by landlords and letting agents. Q: What should I do if one half of a joint tenancy moves out but refuses to respond to the tenant changeover request? A: The tenant changeover function has been intentionally designed to help in case of this situation: if the tenant fails to respond to the request, it will 'time out' after 15 working days. This means you can...Read More

Ask SafeDeposits: Can I change who the lead tenant is? In our "What does 'lead tenant' mean?" blog post, we explain the role of a lead tenant as a spokesperson in a joint tenancy, communicating all tenant's wishes during the repayment process. It's only the lead tenant that can enter a repayment request or respond to a request entered by a landlord or letting agent - so it's important that the lead tenant engages with the repayment process so we can...Read More

The art of purr-suading landlords More and more people in Scotland and across the UK are privately renting. Many people in this type of housing are unable to become pet owners, as it is common for landlords to prohibit pets. A Cats Protection survey of our network of adoption centres and branches that rehome cats found that over half of the respondents said it was 'very' or 'extremely' difficult to rehome cats into homes privately rented from a landlord. However,...Read More

Ask SafeDeposits: What happens if there's no response to a repayment request? The importance of contact details When a landlord registers a deposit, we ask for contact details for the tenant, specifically a phone number (preferably a mobile number) and email address. We can't stress enough how important contact details are: we need to be able to contact the tenant after they move out of the property to ask them to complete the repayment steps. If we can't contact the tenant, the...Read More

ARLA Propertymark have put together a new guide for students renting in Scotland, to help you find a suitable flat, keep you and your money safe, and know how to get your deposit back after you move out: Before you start looking Money Decide what you can afford before you start flat hunting. Remember you will have to budget for rent, gas, electricity, water, phone, internet and a TV licence, as well as food and general household items. One of the bonuses of being a student is that...Read More

Expected to commence in December 2017, the Scottish Government's new tenancy regime will replace the current system of assured/short assured tenancies in favour of Private Residential Tenancies (PRTs). The Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) has been lobbying Holyrood for clarity on the impact the incoming legislation will have on existing tenancies. In response, the government has confirmed that no existing tenancies will be affected and will continue to be governed by the...Read More