A recent survey carried out in Scotland has revealed some startling
information according to the BBC. Apparently more than half of
tenants renting properties in Scotland have no idea that tenant
deposit schemes even exist. 55% of those polled claimed to be unaware
of the scheme and 76% said they didn’t know deposits needed to be
placed in such a scheme. Less than 20% were also unaware that their
deposits needed to be placed in a deposit scheme no later than May
15.
Concern about the lack of awareness
By the time the May deadline rolls around, all Scottish landlords in
the private sector must have lodged eligible deposits. But the
authors of the survey, SafeDeposits Scotland, have expressed concern
about the low levels of awareness from tenants.
“At a time when the private rented sector is growing, we need to
provide safe, secure renting. And the new tenancy deposit protection
legislation goes some way towards this, but only if tenants know
about their rights,” said Rebecca Johnston, director of operations at
SafeDeposits.
Scottish government pledges to increase awareness
The Scottish government claims the tenancy deposit scheme has been a
huge success so far and around 112,000 deposits had been protected by
the scheme. However, they do add that,
“We will continue to work with the three approved tenancy deposit
schemes – who have a legal responsibility to promote their schemes –
to increase understanding and awareness of the schemes amongst
tenants, landlords and their agents.”
Hopefully awareness amongst tenants increases before the May when
deposits are legally obliged to be deposited in a protection scheme.
