Rise in renters losing deposits
Cases of people trying to retrieve money from landlords doubles
ASURGE in cases where landlords are unnecessarily withholding their tenants’ deposit has been reported across Scotland with one advice service noting a doubling in the number of renters seeking help to retrieve their money.
Citizens Advice Scotland (CAS) said recent incidents had included those where landlords have run into financial difficulties and are unable to pay back the deposit or where letting agencies are no longer answering calls from disgruntled tenants.
It c o mes as a Scottish Gover nment scheme that independently holds deposits with a third-party organisation to protect tenants from unscrupulous landlords comes into full effect.
Earlier this week, staff at Glasgow Central CAB said the issue of tenants not getting their deposits back was the biggest issue facing young people in the city.
Concerns were earlier raised about the seemingly slow response by landlords and agents to sign up to the scheme, which provides an arbitration service should a dispute arise over a deposit.
Separately, a rise in complaints about unscrupulous practices involving letting agents have more than doubled in recent years, lead- ing experts to brand the industry “reminiscent of the Wild West”.
Susan McPhee, head of policy at Citizens Advice Scotland, said disputes over deposits were a significant source of case work at the organisation.
She said: “Looking at figures from all the CAB offices across Scotland, the number of cases relating to deposits has doubled over the last year.
“So this is a major concern, and a growing one. The experience at Glasgow Central CAB is certainly not unusual, and similar trends are being reported by CAB advisers across Scotland.”
CAS said one bureau in the east of Scotland had been dealing with a couple seeking their £425 deposit from a previous landlord, who claims he is experiencing financial trouble. The client is unemployed and her husband is on minimum wage, CAS said.
In another case, a woman is fighting to get back a £700 deposit with her landlord claiming damage to the property. CAS said those who completed the inventory had taken photos of the damage, much of which seemed insignificant.
The UK Property Ombudsman has reported a 123% increase in grievances from tenants since 2008, with complaints rising from 3739 to 8334.
Problems encountered by tenants ranged from unlawful evictions to appeals for essential repairs being ignored by agents, and inspections not being carried out. Other complaints included deposits going missing, and out-ofdate and misleading sales adverts.
Only 155 out of an estimated 500 letting agents in Scotland have signed up voluntarily to the Association of Residential Letting Agents, the professional body that has a code of conduct. Hundreds of agents are involved in more than 150,000 private lettings a year. On May 9, SafeDeposits Scotland, one of the Government-approved schemes, said 129,164 deposits were submitted to all three schemes by March 31.
This compares to a potential 291,190 approved properties whose owners signed up for the landlord registration scheme.
Eddie Hooke, chief executive of mydeposits Scotland, one of the Scottish Government-approved organisations, said: “At a first glance the Government’s reported deposit protection take-up figures do not seem all too encouraging.
“However, it is important to note that not all Scottish deposits were required to be protected by landlords or letting agents until May 15, so we’d expect the uptake figures to have improved and for more deposits to have been lodged now that this final deadline has passed.”