Countdown begins to teach Scottish landlords about new deposit responsibilities

The countdown has begun to educate Scotland’s landlords, letting agents and tenants about tenancy deposit protection. The legislation came into force in March 2011 and landlords and letting agents will shortly be required by law to hand that deposit over to an approved third-party custodial scheme – like The LPS Scotland - to ensure it is properly protected.

The Scottish Government implemented the legislation after its research found that 8,000 – 11,000 tenants a year had part or all of their deposits unfairly withheld, equating to between £2.2 and £3.6 million*.

With over 5 years’ experience of running a similar custodial scheme, we know that educating landlords, letting agents and tenants is essential if the legislation is to be effective.

Landlords need to be aware of their new responsibilities to ensure that they don’t fall foul of the regulations and tenants also should take time to learn about the new legislation, to make sure their deposit is securely protected within the new 30 day timeframe.

The new legislation will go a long way to giving tenants, landlords and letting agents the reassurance that deposits are secured properly and the return of money at the end of the tenancy is structured and fair.

We’ve been in Scotland all week speaking at events in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen to ensure this message is getting out to the Scottish market and we’ll be setting up further sessions, including an online webinar in the next few weeks.

You can stay up to date with the latest news either here, or on our website and we’ll post details of future events as soon as they become available.

You can also follow us on Twitter - @LPS_Scotland

_{The LPS Scotland is in the process of being approved by the Scottish Government to protect tenancy deposits on behalf of tenants, landlords and letting agents. The service will be free to use and run by Computershare Investor Services PLC which also operates The DPS the only UK-based custodial deposit protection scheme.}

Scotland a step closer to tenancy deposit protection

Our application to run a custodial tenancy deposit protection scheme in Scotland has entered public consultation; you can now view the terms and conditions of our scheme on the The Scottish Government website. The consultation is required by Part 4 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 and will look at the proposed framework of our scheme to ensure it meets all the conditions set out in the Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Regulations 2011.

As our operating company also runs the only custodial scheme in England and Wales (The DPS), our application to Scottish Government has benefited from this wealth of experience – we know the process inside and out. We’re experienced in fast deposit repayment, having returned over 900,000 since launch, we have extensive customer support channels online as well as an effective call centre and text messaging service and our adjudicators have resolved over 12,000 disputes quickly and efficiently. Everything we have developed over the last 5 years in England and Wales will be brought to The LPS Scotland service and whilst there are some differences between the Scottish legislation and that in place in England and Wales, we’re well placed to deliver the scheme north of the border.

The Scottish Government has already reviewed our proposed scheme, to ensure compliance with the regulations, and will now await further comment from the public consultation.

We’ll keep you updated with the consultation process, but in the meantime, if you’d like more information on The LPS Scotland you can read our overview brochure.

We’re also running a series of events in which we’ll give you a detailed introduction to the legislation, our scheme and the dispute resolution process. Our next events take place in Glasgow (14^th December) and Aberdeen (10^th January).

For more information, visit www.lettingprotectionscotland.com.

We're heading to Glasgow and Aberdeen to talk about tenancy deposit protection!

We've finalised some new presentation dates in Glasgow and Aberdeen where landlord and letting agents can learn more about deposit protection, the adjudication process, how to prepare and how The LPS Scotland will operate when approved. Kevin Firth, our Director will host the following events:

Glasgow - Wednesday 14th December 2011 Time: 10:00-12:30 Address: Mercure Glasgow City Hotel, 201 Ingram Street, Glasgow, G1 1DQ Email us to register for this event

Aberdeen - Tuesday 10th January 2012 Time: 10:00-12:30 Address: Doubletree by Hilton, Aberdeen City Centre, Beach Boulevard, Aberdeen, AB24 5EF Email us to register for this event

The LPS Scotland will launch early next year following approval from the Scottish Government and as soon as the first scheme launches, landlords and letting agents will have to start protecting tenancy deposits.  

We look forward to seeing you at an event soon. For more information visit our website and follow us on Twitter.

What do Scottish letting agents really think of tenancy deposit protection?

We had the chance to chat to some letting agents at our event in Edinburgh the other week and capture their thoughts on tenancy deposit protection on camera. Agents from Ace Property Management, M E Lettings and 1-2-1 Property Limited gave us their views - I'd be interested to know whether you share their thoughts and how you've been preparing for the legilsation.

If you'd like to attend one of our tenancy deposit protection presentations and find out what the legislation means for you and how our scheme will operate, we're posting new dates for Aberdeen and Glasgow very soon!

For more information, visit our website or send us an email.

Letting agents and landlords already preparing for tenancy deposit protection in Scotland

We’ve had a busy week in Scotland with the Scottish Association of Landlord’s Conference on Tuesday, our own seminar in our Edinburgh office on Wednesday and the East Lothian Landlord’s Forum yesterday. It’s also been a great opportunity to meet a number of landlords and letting agents, get their reactions to tenancy deposit protection legislation and find out how their preparations are coming along.

The majority of landlords and agents at our seminar yesterday were aware of the implications of the new legislation. In fact I spoke to several agents who had already started educating their landlords and changing documents appropriately.

We recorded a few video snippets from some of the delegates which we’re making into a video as we speak – expect that uploaded here soon.

Whilst we covered the impact of the legislation, how The LPS Scotland would operate, and dispute resolution, we gauged from the questions posed that the attendees were keen to explore the whole subject of our dispute service in much greater detail.

General consensus in the room was that the dispute resolution process would present them with the biggest challenge. In fact we had planned on hosting some more intensive ADR workshops for landlords and agents following the launch of the scheme, but after feedback yesterday, we’re looking to host one early next year.

During the workshop landlords and letting agents will get the chance to act as an adjudicator and actually assess  real cases and present their findings. We have used this format with landlords and agents in England and Wales who have found it hugely beneficial.

As well as the more in-depth ADR workshop, we’re planning more introductory presentations in Scottish towns and cities over the coming weeks and will post dates very soon.

If you’d like to attend an event then send us an email and we’ll issue all the information to you.

Alternatively, if you have any questions that let us know either here, via email, or on Twitter.

The Letting Protection Service Scotland (The LPS Scotland) prepares to protect tenancy deposits

As you may know, the Scottish Government is introducing legislation that will make it compulsory for all landlords and letting agents in Scotland who take deposits for a relevant tenancy to protect them with a Government approved custodial tenancy deposit scheme. The LPS Scotland has submitted an application to run a scheme and, once approved by the Scottish Government, will be the only provider with any experience of running a custodial tenancy deposit protection scheme.

It will be operated by the same company who run The Deposit Protection Service (The DPS) – the only company with five years’ experience of running a custodial scheme. The DPS - which currently operates in England and Wales – has protected more than 1.7m deposits to date, amounting to more than £1.3 Billion.

Experience matters and having already established The DPS from the beginning we know how to support landlords and letting agents through the transition of new legislation. We’ve established tried and tested systems, developed robust processes and continually innovated to ensure we’re providing the best possible service to our customers.

When approved, The LPS Scotland will use this knowledge to provide fast, free and secure deposit protection to support Scottish landlords and letting agents in complying with regulations.

A bit about the legislation

Under the Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Regulations 2011, which came into force in March 2011, landlords and letting agents will have a duty to protect tenants’ deposits as soon as the first approved scheme launches. From that date they’ll have 30 days to protect deposits for all new tenancies. Landlords holding deposits for existing tenancies will have 9 months from the launch of the first scheme to protect their tenants’ deposits.

The scheme will hold on to the deposit for the duration of the tenancy – providing assurance to tenants that it is not being used for any other purpose – and at the end of the tenancy both parties will agree on how the deposit should be repaid. The DPS currently repays deposits in an average of two working days from the point of agreement.

Kevin Firth, Director of The DPS will be giving a presentation on 9^th November at our Edinburgh office where you can learn more about the legislation, what it will mean for you and how The LPS Scotland will work once approved.

He’ll also be sharing his experiences of running the scheme for landlords and tenants in England and Wales.

If you’d like to attend the event please email us to register your interest. Or, if you’d like us to send you more information on The LPS Scotland following approval from Scottish Government, send us an email or visit our website.

We’ll keep you up to date on developments here on the blog and via Twitter (LPS_Scotland).