Edinburgh tenants could cash in on share of six-figure windfall

• Edinburgh residents could be due share of £219,959
• Capital has the largest number of unclaimed deposits – with one worth £4,394
• More than 1,000 long-standing tenancies in Scotland have an EH postcode

SafeDeposits Scotland has revealed that tenants in Edinburgh could be due a share of £219,959, after failing to claim back deposits at the end of their tenancies.

The Glasgow-based tenancy deposit scheme holds deposits on behalf of landlords and agents in line with government regulations designed to ensure responsible leasing. When a tenancy ends and all parties agree to repayment, the scheme will then release the funds back to the tenant.

Currently, the EH postcode has 678 unclaimed deposits with a combined value of £219,959, with one individual claim worth £4,394 – the highest in Scotland. In total across Scotland, there are 2,418 unclaimed deposits, amounting to £697,554.

In 2019, SafeDeposits Scotland tracked down 2,750 tenants across the country that had forgotten to claim their deposits back. The not-for-profit organisation managed to return £912,418 from the scheme to these tenants.

Research carried out by SafeDeposits Scotland also looked at the quantity of deposits the scheme holds for longer-standing tenancies. The average tenure length for tenancies with deposits protected by SafeDeposits Scotland is just over 2.5 years, however the scheme found over 4,500 active deposit accounts for tenancies of 10 years or more.

There are more than 1,000 long-standing tenancies in the EH postcode area alone, with a deposit for one tenancy in Peebles starting in 1976. While many of these tenancies will still be active, there may be some cases where a tenancy has ended and none of the parties have ever instigated the repayment process.

Mike Smith, operations manager at SafeDeposits Scotland, said: “Our priority is to make sure tenants’ deposits are safe for the duration of their tenancy, and that both landlords and tenants have access to our dispute resolution service should there be any disagreement over the deposit once the tenancy ends.

“It has been predicted that Edinburgh will be home to 60,000 private rented sector homes by 2028, as the city continues to attract people looking for employment in the capital’s thriving creative industries sector*. It’s part of our job to make sure that people, including those moving into these new houses, remember to claim their deposits back from previous tenancies.

“We’ve found that more than 600 people who lived in or around Edinburgh have left their homes without claiming back their deposit, one of which is worth more than £4,000. These are instances where the landlord has instructed for the deposit to be repaid to the tenant, but the tenant hasn’t completed the process to receive their funds. We’ve also discovered that there are hundreds of older tenancies, some of which may be no longer active and with deposits to be repaid.

“Moving home can be a busy time but there’s no reason why a tenant shouldn’t claim their deposit back when they leave.”

Any surpluses generated by SafeDeposits Scotland are donated to its related charity, the SafeDeposits Scotland Charitable Trust.

Among the organisations to have received funding from the Trust is Under One Roof which, with a grant of £15,462, held a series of seminars on common repairs for private landlords in 2019. The programme included events in Edinburgh and Livingston.

If tenants in Scotland think they have left a deposit with SafeDeposits Scotland unclaimed from a previous tenancy, they should enquire with the scheme on 03333 213 136.