Rent Deposit Fund: A partnership between SafeDeposits Scotland and Rock Trust

SafeDeposits Scotland and Rock Trust have announced a partnership to deliver a Rent Deposit Fund, offering non-returnable tenancy deposits to young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness to support them in moving into Scotland's private rented sector (PRS).

SafeDeposits Scotland is a government approved tenancy deposit protection scheme, the largest in the country, established in 2012 to protect deposits in line with the Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Regulations 2011. Rock Trust is Scotland's youth homelessness charity and as part of its extensive work already has several years experience providing a successful Rent Deposit Scheme to young people.

How the Rent Deposit Fund works

Young people aged 16-25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness can apply to the Rock Trust for a deposit funded by SafeDeposits Scotland. Rock Trust will carry out a full assessment on affordability, suitability of preferred housing options, housing history and references (if available) and provide low level support to assist the applicant to prepare for and maintain their own tenancy.

If the application is successful, the deposit will be held by SafeDeposits Scotland throughout the young person's stay in the rented accommodation. When the tenancy ends the funds will be returned to the Rent Deposit Fund to support other young people via the scheme.

In the event that the landlord feels compelled to claim a deduction from the deposit at the end of the tenancy, SafeDeposits' impartial adjudication service will be available. This means that, as with any tenancy deposit dispute, the scheme will ask the landlord and tenant for further information so an impartial adjudicator can decide what repayment is fair.

Criteria for the Rent Deposit Fund

On receiving an application, Rock Trust will carry out a full assessment as detailed above. The Rent Deposit Fund criteria are for young people who:

• are aged 16-25
• are homeless or at risk of homelessness
• are 'stuck' in a housing situation that is detrimental to their wellbeing or preventing them from reaching their potential
• are unable to meet the full cost of setting up home in the PRS without assistance from the Rent Deposit Fund
• have been assessed by Rock Trust as suitable for the scheme in terms of affordability, suitability of housing and ability to live independently within the conditions of a tenancy agreement
• have no current rent arrears or who have maintained a repayment plan for historical rent arrears for a minimum of six months

Get in touch

If you are a landlord or housing provider interested in being involved in this initiative and would like to find out more, please email hello@rocktrust.org or call 0345 222 1425.