Responding to a Parliamentary Answer from the Housing Minister, Alex Neil, announcing that the Scottish Government are considering a statutory tenancy deposit scheme to protect tenants in the private sector Glasgow SNP MSP Bob Doris – a member of the Scottish Parliament’s Communities Committee – said: "This is very welcome news and I am sure will also be given a positive reception by private tenants and housing bodies.

"It shows how the Scottish Government, together with the housing sector, have what it takes to address important issues like this in these troubled economic times.

"It is wrong that some tenants in the private sector are having their deposits withheld unfairly. This can have serious implications for tenants – particularly in the current economic environment.

"It is now more important than ever that tenants are protected from having deposits withheld. It is also important because it will protect the good name of the vast majority of landlords from that minority who are acting unfairly.

"The minister has made it clear that those minority of landlords need to raise their game and the Government has also set out a timetable for action should they fail to do so."

Note:

The Parliamentary Question and Answer are as follows:

20 May 2009 
Bob Doris (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for improving tenancy deposit practice. (S3W-24109)

Mr Alex Neil MSP: The Scottish Government is aware of, and shares, the concerns about unfairly withheld tenancy deposits.

As part of the recently published Review of the Private Rented Sector, the Scottish Government collected evidence on the scale and nature of unfairly withheld tenancy deposits.

The stakeholder working group, comprising tenant, landlord and agent representatives, met on 5 February 2009 to discuss the evidence on tenancy deposits, but remained divided about the extent to which this is a significant issue and the most appropriate action to take to improve tenancy deposit practice.

However, stakeholders were keen to explore the mechanisms for some form of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme, which could include a statutory tenancy deposit scheme.

I would therefore like to announce that we will be producing an evidence paper on the options and costs for using ADR to resolve tenancy deposits, by the summer. We intend to present the evidence to a final meeting of the stakeholder working group with the aim of trying to reach a consensus on the most appropriate action to take.

If consensus is not possible, we will publish an options paper by the autumn, for wider public consultation with a view to making a final decision on this issue early in 2010.