Housing charity Shelter Scotland is braced for the “annual surge” of calls from students whose landlords have refused to return their deposits and students are no strangers to the problem.
New Abertay University Students Association president William Mohieddeen told The Courier, “We are really aware of the situation of students being unfairly treated by landlords and I am sure it is spread throughout Scotland.”
Scottish Government research estimates up to £3.6 million in deposits is being wrongly withheld from students and other tenants in the private rented sector a figure Mr Mohieddeen described as “quite alarming.”
A new rent deposit scheme, where the cash will be held by an independent third party, is to be introduced next year and will be “a step forward in the right direction,” he went on.
“Students are currently under a lot of pressure and commercial debt can have a detrimental effect so I would support any effort to take that burden off.”
Shelter Scotland director Graeme Brown said the number of students in Scotland seeking housing advice from the charity peaks around now as students vacate their accommodation.
Research by NUS Scotland shows a third of students believe their deposit has been unfairly withheld by a landlord at some point, with cleaning costs the most commonly contested issue.
Landlords who withhold deposits unfairly cause hardship to thousands of students as they attempt to move between tenancies and the introduction of a tenancy deposit scheme would be of benefit to both sides, Mr Brown continued.
He added, “Of course, the scheme is also there to protect landlords, who in some cases are entitled to withhold deposits, or part of them, to recover losses for damage to their properties.”
However, until the scheme is implemented the charity believes the balance of power remains with landlords.
When the tenancy deposit scheme comes into force, all deposits will be held by an impartial third party. At the end of a tenancy, landlords should inform the scheme if any of the money needed to be held to cover damages or unpaid bills, and the rest should be returned to the tenant.
If there is a dispute, the scheme will offer arbitration.
Mr Brown added, “Until the tenancy protection scheme is up and running, students are left vulnerable to the very real threat of homelessness due to a lack of funds to secure their next property.”