withholding last months rent

n90bar

Hiya...

I let out a property in Scotland and have very recently had a similar thing happen to me - tenant decides to up and leave and withold last months rent. Firstly in Scotland there is no DPS like England, the landlord if he is managing the property himself can do really what he likes with the deposit - im my case I always put it in a seperate savings account and leave it be, but there wouldnt be anything technically stopping me from spending it! If however its managed through a letting agent I suspect they would be holding it on your/landlords behalf.

I would be very suprised if your landlord did persue you for the last month - I tried to go down that route but solicitor pretty much said it could cost alot and at the end of the day you cannot get blood from a stone - if your landlord is in financial trouble you would just join the list of creditors.

In my case I retained the deposit and set about finding a new tenant asap to mitigate any loss of rent - luckily house was kept in good order and deposit wasnt required to decorate/repair anway!!