ROGUE landlords and dodgy letting agents will come under the microscope today as the Scottish Government discusses its "deep concern" over the security of tenants' deposits.

The Scottish Parliament will debate a motion by Glasgow MSP and Scottish Green Party leader Patrick Harvie, called Protecting Tenants' Deposits.

As reported in the Evening Times on May 20, the Citizens Advice Bureau calls it the biggest issue facing young people in the city.

Despite a new law having come into effect on May 15, which requires private landlords to lodge deposits in a special account to ensure the money is safely returned once a tenancy comes to an end, some landlords and letting agents have failed to do so.

With Holyrood working on a Bill to regulate the industry, Mr Harvie hopes the debate will give MSPs the chance to tell Housing Minister Margaret Burgess what the Bill should include, based on the experiences of their constituents.

Mr Harvie said: "I have had contact from people raising issues about deposits and problems with landlords.

"The tenancy deposit scheme is in place, but it seems some landlords have been saying they are complying with the law when they are not.

"We all realise the unregulated nature of the letting industry has to be dealt with.

"I have been given the opportunity to put forward a motion for debate in the chamber –a rare and unexpected thing for a small party – and after seeing the Evening Times article on the problems in Glasgow I thought this was the right issue to put forward."

Mr Harvie put forward a motion asking that the Parliament "expresses deep concern for what it considers the many private sector tenants in Scotland who remain at risk of unfairly losing their rental deposits; notes reports in the Evening Times that most private landlords in Scotland are not yet complying with the legal requirement to lodge their tenants' deposits with an approved deposit scheme..."

It adds the Parliament would "welcome an end to exploitative and unscrupulous practices in the private rented sector and believes this is vital if tenants are to have confidence in taking on tenancies, and considers that the forthcoming housing Bill provides the opportunity for measures, including the regulation of letting agents, that will safeguard the interests of tenants".

Mr Harvie said he hoped tough penalties would be imposed on landlords who do not comply with the law.

He added: "The policy needs to make sure tenants' rights do not just exist on paper."

stef.lach@ heraldandtimes.co.uk

After seeing the Times article I thought this was the right issue