When it intends to establish a framework for the regulation and approval of tenancy deposits schemes under the provisions of the Housing (S…

Provisions in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 give Scottish ministers powers to introduce a mandatory tenancy deposit scheme in Scotland. The Scottish Government has established a working group of stakeholders representing the interests of private landlords and tenants to consider the need for a mandatory tenancy deposit scheme in Scotland. The group agreed that further work should be carried out to develop an evidence base on the scale of the problem of unfairly withheld deposits in order to inform their thinking. In addition, the group is considering existing examples of good practice in tenancy deposit management.
The working group is expected to make recommendations to Scottish ministers later this year on how deposit management practice might be improved and any further research which might be required. It will also be important to consider over time the impact that the mandatory landlord registration scheme and the forthcoming national voluntary landlord accreditation scheme have on improving deposit management practice among landlords and letting agents in Scotland.