Clackmannanshire Council Online

Tenancy Deposit Schemes

Tenancy Deposit Schemes

A tenancy deposit is a sum of money that a tenant may be required to pay a private landlord at the start of a tenancy. A landlord may request up to 2 months’ rent for a deposit from the tenant. The deposit may then be kept by the landlord as security against the tenant not meeting their responsibilities as set out within a tenancy agreement.

The tenancy agreement should detail the circumstances when the landlord might keep some, or all, of the deposit at the end of a tenancy. Some circumstances when this might happen could be to pay for:

• Damage to the property caused by the tenant (except where there has been normal wear and tear);
• Cleaning bills if the property has been left in poor condition;
• Any unpaid bills;
• Any unpaid rent.

Private landlords who receive a deposit from their tenant must lodge it into one of the three approved tenancy deposit Schemes within 30 working days of receiving it. Once the deposit has been lodged, the landlord must provide the tenant with key information about the deposit. The 3 approved schemes are:

• Letting Protection Service Scotland
• My Deposits Scotland
• SafeDeposits Scotland

Once the deposit has been lodged, the landlord must provide the tenant with key information about the deposit. This must include information on:

• The amount of the deposit and the date it was received and paid into the deposit scheme;
• What scheme the deposit is in.

For further information on tenancy deposits, please visit the Scottish Government webpage.