Tenancy deposit scheme could be windfall for Edinburgh tenants
There is a large share of the cash held by SafeDeposits Scotland which could be due to Edinburgh tenants.
The company holds deposits on behalf of landlords and has reported on the amount of money that tenants have failed to claim back at the end of their tenancies. In Edinburgh there are 678 unclaimed deposits with a combined value of £219,959 and one deposit which could net one individual the sum of £4,394, paid as a deposit at the beginning of one tenancy.
Research carried out by SafeDeposits Scotland also looked at the quantity of deposits the scheme holds for longer-standing tenancies. The average tenure length for tenancies with deposits protected by SafeDeposits Scotland is just over 2.5 years, however the scheme found over 4,500 active deposit accounts for tenancies of 10 years or more.
There are more than 1,000 long-standing tenancies in the EH postcode area alone, with a deposit for one tenancy in Peebles starting in 1976. Some of these tenancies may still be active, but there will be some which have ended without repayment of the monies due to the tenant.
Mike Smith, operations manager at SafeDeposits Scotland, said: “Our priority is to make sure tenants’ deposits are safe for the duration of their tenancy, and that both landlords and tenants have access to our dispute resolution service should there be any disagreement over the deposit once the tenancy ends.
“It has been predicted that Edinburgh will be home to 60,000 private rented sector homes by 2028, as the city continues to attract people looking for employment in the capital’s thriving creative industries sector. It’s part of our job to make sure that people, including those moving into these new houses, remember to claim their deposits back from previous tenancies.
“We’ve found that more than
600 people who lived in or around Edinburgh have left their homes without claiming back their deposit, one of which is worth more than £4,000. These are instances where the landlord has instructed for the deposit to be repaid to the tenant, but the tenant hasn’t completed the process to receive their funds. We’ve also discovered that there are hundreds of older tenancies, some of which may be no longer active and with deposits to be repaid."