Question reference: S6W-33839
- Asked by: Meghan Gallacher, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
- Date lodged: 23 January 2025
- Current status: Answered by Paul McLennan on 31 January 2025
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many tenancy deposits were unclaimed at the end of the tenancy agreement in each year since 2021-22, and what action it takes to promote the uptake of deposits.
Answer
The requested information is detailed in the following table:
| Financial Year | Increase in unclaimed deposits from previous year | Total number of unclaimed deposits |
| 2021-22 | 862 | 12,912 |
| 2022-23 | 988 | 13,900 |
| 2023-24 | 6,297 | 20,197 |
The total value of unclaimed deposits in the requested financial years can be found in our previously issued response to S6W-33204 on 20 January 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.
In reference to the increase of number and value of unclaimed tenancy deposits in 2023-24, Scottish Government received notification from one of the schemes in August 2023 explaining that they had reviewed the criteria used to report on unclaimed deposits. This has resulted in a fluctuation in their figures with a corresponding increase in the total number of unclaimed deposits amongst the three schemes.
Each of the three schemes may calculate unclaimed deposits differently, as an unclaimed deposit is not currently defined in law. Provisions within the Housing (Scotland) Bill will create a legal definition of when a tenancy deposit can be considered unclaimed, ensuring there is consistency in all three schemes figures if the Bill is approved.
The tenancy deposit schemes have taken a number of active steps to reunite unclaimed deposits with former tenants and have recently shared best practises amongst each other. The Scottish Government intend to take forward additional changes to support tenants to reclaim their deposit at the end of the tenancy. This includes providing more information to tenants about unclaimed tenancy deposits to raise awareness of the issue and to be clear about what would happen if they don’t reclaim their deposit, as part of implementation of the measures in the Bill.
www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/questions-and-answers/question?ref=S6W-33839
