5. Private Rented Housing
The size and nature of the local private rented housing market varies depending on local circumstances. In some areas there are particular major demands, for example for students, seasonal fluctuations, or winter lets. Check with the Council for any local policy, including lists of 'approved' landlords, quality checks, tenancy relations staff, licensing (or registration) or plans for licensing houses in multiple occupation.
How to find out about private rented accommodation
• Read the ads in the local papers or put an ad in yourself.
• Contact the local Solicitors' Property Centre, Housing Advice Agency accommodation agencies and estate agents.
• Look out for small ads that appear, for example, on the supermarket notice boards or in the windows of some shops and post offices.
• In certain areas the local tourism office will have details of some holiday lets and their owners, who could be contacted to explore the possibility of winter or longer-term lets. There may be a charge for the published list of accommodation.
• Ask around, particularly in the country areas where some private renting opportunities may be advertised by word of mouth. Check with the local student accommodation services who can sometimes assist.
NOTE that it is an offence:
• for accommodation or letting agencies to charge to put your name on a list
• for landlords in Scotland to levy any form of premium on the rent.
Housing Benefit entitlement
People on low incomes with high rental costs are usually entitled to receive Housing Benefit to help them pay the rent.
It is important, however, to remember that there is no automatic entitlement. Housing Benefit will only be paid to someone who has gone through the application process properly and satisfies the statutory requirements for the payment of Benefit. Moreover, the level of Housing Benefit awarded may not pay the rent in full.
It is very important, therefore, that anyone who may be relying on Housing Benefit to make a private rented opportunity affordable should contact the Housing Benefit advisers at the Council, Citizens Advice or other advice agency before they accept the tenancy. It is advisable to obtain a pre-tenancy determination (PTD) from the Housing Benefit office in advance of signing a tenancy agreement to ensure it is affordable. (See Appendix A for further details on Housing Benefit.)
Deposit
You will normally be required to pay a deposit as well as your first month's rent in advance. The deposit is money paid to a landlord (or accommodation agency) at the beginning of a tenancy as security against things like rent arrears, damage to property or removal of furniture by a tenant. A deposit must never be more than one sixth of the annual rent. However, it normally tends to be the same amount as one month's rent. Providing that you have accrued no rent arrears at the end of your tenancy and the accommodation is in the same condition as you found it, you should have your deposit returned to you in full.
Rent Deposit Guarantee Scheme
In some parts of Scotland there are schemes to help people into the private rented sector. Local conditions vary but generally the schemes will guarantee the deposit/rent in advance to the landlord. Many of the schemes are funded by the Scottish Executive Rough Sleepers Initiative and the Council administers the funding. Contact the Council for details of any scheme operating in your area. Alternatively you can contact the National Rent Deposit Forum who have over 160 members in the UK on 0121 616 5067. Web site: www.nrdf.org.uk.
The Scottish Letting Agency is a Non-Profit Making Online Service For Landlords, Tenants & Service Providers Involved in the Scottish Residential Property Market. Please click here to view their website. Web site: www.scottish-letting-agency.com
Dial-a-Law is the Law Society of Scotland's information and referral service. With a library of over 40 different legal topics from family law to employment law, from making a will to choosing a solicitor, it gives you clear down-to-earth information about a wide variety of situations including private letting, your rights as a tenant and rights as a landlord and many other housing issues. Simply choose a topic from the drop down list. After you've read the script, you can choose to have details of a solicitor dealing with that category of work, or return to this page or go to the Society's Firms and Branches database. Please click here to view their website. Web site: www.lawscot.gov.uk
Dial-a-Law is also available as a telephone service by calling 0870 545 5554.
