My|deposits has made a formal bid to run a tenancy deposit protection scheme in Scotland.

This follows legislation passed by the Scottish Government in March 2011 which paved the way for deposit protection.

Under the new law, private residential landlords, and letting agents who take a deposit from their tenants on behalf of their landlord clients, will be required to lodge the deposit with a government-approved tenancy deposit scheme for safekeeping for the duration of the tenancy. The service will be free for landlords, agents and tenants.

The new legislation has been introduced with the aim of ensuring deposits are returned to the tenant at the end of the tenancy, provided they are entitled to it.

Once the first tenancy deposit scheme goes live in Scotland, landlords and agents who take new deposits from tenants after this point will have 30 days to lodge the deposit with a scheme. Landlords with existing tenancies will also have to lodge the deposit, but will have up to nine months to do so.

Eddie Hooker, CEO of my|deposits, said: “My|deposits already operates a successful scheme in England and Wales which protects well over £1 billion worth of tenancy deposits. We are experts in tenancy deposit protection and dispute resolution