Liberal Democrat MSP for Edinburgh South Mike Pringle is urging action to stop landlords unfairly withholding deposits from tenants.

Mr Pringle has pointed to an NUS survey showing that last year a third of students had their deposit unreasonably withheld and a quarter of students lost their deposit. Mr Pringle is calling on the Scottish Government to introduce a mandatory Tenant Deposit Scheme to protect tenants from rogue landlords.

Landlords would hand over the deposit in full to the scheme, which would be funded by the interest on the deposits. If a dispute arose between the landlord and the tenant at the end of the tenancy the scheme would hold the amount until the dispute resolution service or courts decide what is fair.

Commenting, Mr Pringle said:

“Over 173,000 people live in the private rented sector across Scotland, but at present there are no laws to determine how much landlords can charge as a deposit or to stop landlords unfairly retaining deposits.

"This loophole means that thousands of individuals, often students and families already struggling financially, are left badly out of pocket.

"A survey by the National Union of Students found that last year almost a third of students had their deposit unreasonably withheld and a quarter of students lost their deposit.

"It is totally unacceptable that those already struggling financially can be held to ransom by unscrupulous landlords. Liberal Democrats are calling on the Scottish Government to introduce a Tenancy Deposit Protection Scheme.

“Tenants in England already have their deposits protected by law under the self-funding Deposit Protection Service. I want to see a similar scheme introduced in Scotland.”