Today we have a blog from Anthony Cox, The LPS Scotland’s Regional Manager: I have been adding many miles to my car lately; travelling to all parts of Scotland hosting free drop in sessions; helping landlords and agents become familiar with the Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Regulations and our scheme. The sessions have been well attended and it’s been great to meet so many of our customers and to answer your questions. It is wonderful to watch people’s reactions to the explanation of the effect of the legislation - mostly glum to begin with (good landlords feel that the legislation has been landed on them and it is through the actions of a few bad ones that this system has been implemented) but within minutes they understand that the system is not as onerous as they expected, so they leave smiling!
I have been visiting landlords and letting agents on a one to one basis, geographically ranging from Fraserburgh and Aberdeen to Dumfries and Kelso, Oban and many places in between.
We are the only provider in Scotland with experience of running a custodial scheme, experience that counts when it’s time to return funds at the end of the tenancy - our sister company The DPS processes over 4000 transactions daily in England and Wales. At one presentation in Aberdeen a letting agent explained that they had processed their first repayment with us and found it so much easier than they expected! We realise that deposit protection is a big change for landlords and letting agents, which is why we make it as simple as possible to administer.
Along the way I’ve heard some amusing and some frightening stories from the landlords and letting agents I have met. One landlord told me their tenant wanted to light a log burning stove, so put a log in the kitchen sink and covered it with petrol before carrying through the house. Half the house fell down and the poor tenant was in hospital for six months.
In my next blog post I’ll be answering some of the common questions landlords and letting agents have been asking me. In the meantime, I’d like to know your thoughts on the following questions:
- What did you think about the legislation before it came into force and what, now you are familiar with it, are your thoughts today?
- How easy has it been for you to adjust to paying the deposit into a scheme rather than into a deposit account held and managed by you?
- How can you see the legislation helping landlords and how will they help tenants?
- Why did you chose The LPS Scotland – or indeed, why didn’t you?
All information will be anonymous so please don’t include property addresses!
You can email me your thoughts: Anthony.Cox@lettingprotectionscotland.com