Unclaimed tenancy deposits: equality impact assessment

Executive summary

Scottish Ministers have committed to further reform of the rented sectors as part of delivering their vision and commitments for housing as set out in Housing to 2040^[1] and consulted on as part of our New Deal for Tenants: Draft Rented Sector Strategy^[2]. The reforms were also developed as part of the Cooperation Agreement between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Green Party Parliamentary Group, which was ended on 25 April 2024. The 2023-24 Programme for Government^[3] commits to a Housing Bill that will help to deliver the legislative changes required.

Part 4 of the Bill as introduced includes provision to enable the use of unclaimed tenancy deposit funds and for these to be reinvested for the benefit of tenants living in the PRS. A deposit would be considered as unclaimed 5 years from the tenancy end date, allowing tenants to have clarity on when the 5 year timescale to reclaim commences. This is a change to the current legislation which requires that both the funds and tenants details are held indefinitely by the deposit schemes. Provisions therefore enable the use of unclaimed tenancy deposit funds and sets limitation on the use of these funds to ensure they benefit PRS tenants including providing and securing the provision of:

• advice, information or assistance to private tenants in relation to their rights as tenants;
• other services or facilities that promote of support the interests of such tenants, and
• preventing private tenants from becoming homeless.

This is one of a number of equality impact assessments that will be carried out in relation to the Bill policy changes.

The analysis is presented below in the Key Findings section. The findings are based on stakeholder engagement and feedback, desk-based research and analysis of the Review of Tenancy Deposit schemes, responses to the New Deal for Tenants: Draft Rented Sector Strategy and the Landlord and Tenant Engagement Questionnaire and subsequent engagement discussion groups.

The EQIA is an ongoing process, and therefore will continually be amended as new evidence comes to light. We will continue to engage with our stakeholders and will regularly review the EQIA record and results following the data review and subsequent analyses.

Our assessment has identified that procedural changes to enable the use of unclaimed tenancy deposits and for reinvestment into the sector for benefit of its tenants, in relation to the three aspects of the public sector equality duty, is neutral. It has however been identified that introduction of the measures to use unclaimed funds to the benefit of tenants living in the PRS will have an overall beneficial effect on all tenants, including those with protected characteristics. The use of unclaimed deposit funds therefore has the potential to support activities in the future that may positively impact on those with protected characteristics.