Tenancy deposit schemes
Landlords have a legal duty to pay any tenancy deposit they receive into an approved tenancy deposit scheme to protect deposits until they are due to be repaid. Find out more: tenancy deposit schemes on mygov.scot.
Unclaimed tenancy deposits
Unclaimed tenancy deposits occur where the landlord has started the process to return the deposit (via an application to the deposit scheme provider), but the tenant does not respond and cannot be contacted.
There is now around £7 million of unclaimed tenant deposit funds between the approved deposit schemes, despite their efforts to return unclaimed deposits.
Measures in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 enable unclaimed tenancy deposits to be reinvested for the benefit of private tenants.
A deposit will be unclaimed if the scheme is satisfied that no relevant application was made within a 5-year period for the tenancy deposit to be repaid.
The Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 limits the purposes the funds can be used for:
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providing or securing advice, information, or assistance to private tenants (or potential new tenants) in relation to their rights as tenants
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other services or facilities that promote or support the interests of such tenants
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preventing private tenants from becoming homeless
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paying or recovering administrative costs that are reasonably incurred by the recipient
Once these changes take place, former tenants will still be able to reclaim their deposit where they can demonstrate good reason that they did not do so within the relevant timescales.
No date has yet been agreed for these changes to come into force. Further legislation is required.