We have extensive experience of the scheme in England and find it generally fair to landlords and tenants. There is little control at the moment over what less scrupulous landlords charge tenants for deductions and no clear guidelines for landlords. Many tenants end their lease feeling unhappy or confused as to why charges have been applied.

What is key to the making the scheme work for both landlords and tenants is a detailed inventory (provided here at Edinburgh Residential with digital pictures as standard!) This takes away the subjectivity from damages and provides a clear picture to any independent party of the property. The days of an A4 lit of contents are long gone.

The one issue causing concern for landlords at the moment is that the scheme proposes to hold the deposit funds, only to be released when an agreement is met, this leave the landlord in a position to pay for any damages upfront until a decision is reached. We assume that there will be timescales set to ensure the swift handling of claims.

It will also be essential to have a good agent with experience of the scheme to advise on appropriate deductions and what constitutes ‘fair wear and tear’. This will ensure any disputes are resolved as quickly as possible.

We await further developments with interest. Please feel free to get in touch if you would like any advice on deposits or inventories. If you are a first time landlord we would be happy to talk you through what is involved, just submit an enquiry on the contacts page.

Oh, and Happy Halloween from all at Edinburgh Residential!

We have around ten years experience working in the letting industry in Scotland, for property managers as well as large investment companies and our aim is simple – to make letting as easy as possible. After gaining a wide variety of industry experience we feel the time is right to do things the way we want to, with an emphasis on friendly, professional service.

The company is currently online only while we hunt for office space, but please don’t let that put you off. This allows us to charge a very competitive monthly commission rate at the moment and also means we spend more time out and about in our properties. If you are a prospective landlord we are happy to meet you in person at a time and location convenient for you and if you are a tenant accompanied viewings with transport are standard.

We are individual members of ARLA (The Association of Residential Letting Agents) and work to the highest standards at all times. Please contact us for any free, impartial advice in relation to letting your property, we would be delighted to help.

Look forward to working with you!

With so many Letting Agents in Edinburgh, do we really need another? We think so, after 10 years industry experience, we think there is a gap in the market for an agent who can provide professional and honest advice to individual landlords and who can also work with larger institutional investors.

Our aim is simple – to make property management as easy as possible. As landlords ourselves we know how time consuming it can be to manage a property, from sorting out utility bills to calls in the evenings to report a leak. We will take the hassle out of property management and look after all of this on your behalf. We are currently an online company, which means what we save in overheads, we can offer in very competitive deals to new landlords.

As individual members of ARLA (the Association of Residential Letting Agents) we are fully up to date on all aspects of current legislation and work to the highest professional standards. In an unregulated industry it is vital you have a properly qualified person managing your property, to ensure peace of mind and compliance with current legislation.

Please contact us if you would like to know how we can help you let your property quickly. Watch this space for more news of our launch.

P.S – For those with the time and experience to manage their own property we offer a let only service and a waiting list of tenants!