What happens at the end of the tenancy?

You’re probably wondering what happens to the deposit at the end of the tenancy. Don’t worry, we’ve got all the information you need.

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The deposit release process

If you begin the release

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You begin release process

Having discussed the deposit return with the tenant, you begin the release process through your mydeposits Scotland online account.

We notify the tenant of your proposed release request.

They then ‘agree’ with the release request or ‘disagree’ if necessary.

They have 30 working days to respond to the release request.

If the tenant ‘agrees’ with your release request, the deposit will be returned to the relevant parties within five working days.

If the tenant ‘disagrees’, they can raise a dispute to resolve the issue. Find out more about the dispute process here.

If the tenant begins the release

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Tenant begins release process

Having discussed the deposit return with you, the tenant begins the release process by contacting us and requesting for their deposit back.

We notify you of the tenant’s proposed release request.

You then ‘agree’ or ‘disagree’ with the release request. You may ‘disagree’, if you think you should keep some or all of the deposit to cover things like cleaning or damage.

You will need to provide payment details if you are due all or part of the deposit back.

You have 30 working days to respond to the release request.

If you ‘agree’ with the tenant’s release request, the deposit will be returned to the relevant parties within five working days.

If you ‘disagree’, the tenant will be notified of your counter proposal which they will then ‘agree’ or ‘disagree’ with and raise a dispute to resolve the issue. Find out more about the dispute process here.

The deposit release process

What happens if no one responds to a release request?

If we do not hear from you or the tenant (depending on who started the deposit release process) within 14 working days of the process beginning, we will return the deposit in line with the terms proposed in the release request.

Dispute process

We would encourage you to discuss deposit deductions with your tenant when they move out, and you can withhold all or part of the deposit money without involving us, provided your tenant agrees.

If you are unable to reach an agreement with your tenant, we offer a free and impartial alternative dispute resolution service to help you resolve the issue.