Help Scotland get a better Tenancy Deposit Scheme

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The Tenancy Deposit Schemes introduced in 2007 under the Housing Act 2004 which have created so much debate in this forum apply only to England and Wales. Now Scotland is planning to introduce something to protect tenants' deposits but hoping to make less of a hash of it than south of the border. You can read a resume from Painsmith's at Tenancy Deposit Protection Heads North of the Border Painsmith Landlord and Tenant Blog

 

The Scottish Government has published a consultation with an online response form at [ Safeguarding Tenancy Deposits: The Tenancy Deposit

 

Although not living in Scotland I have responded in most questions with "see Q.27" and at that point have written:

 

"Overall you are following the English approach with some improvements. But this is the WRONG approach, creating unnecessary bureaucracy, conflict, and income for lawyers. The basic element of a scheme that is just to tenant and landlord is one in which the tenant pays the deposit to the scheme and presents a certificate of deposit to the landlord. The landlord MUST accept this as his guarantee. At the end of the tenancy both parties must sign the deposit off for payment to tenant or landlord or an agreed division or must submit to arbitration. There must be rules to prevent one party not responding just to be obstructive. With agreement a deposit could also be transferred to a new tenancy quickly and easily. No failures to protect, no penalties, far less ill feeling, no tenants rushing to court to get a quick profit as in England. Empowering to tenants, just to landlords. This would be a FAR better solution than the abortion in England and Wales and be a feather in Scotland's cap. Being just a bit better than England isn't good enough."

 

I wonder if other Caggers, whether landlords or tenants, whether living in Scotland or not, would like to join in and help the Scots to achieve something better than the mess we have had inflicted on us down south.