Welcome to the Rent Deposit Guarantee Schemes Landlords Page. If you are a landlord and you wish to register with East Ayrshire Council please click here. Once you have registered as a landlord you can then register for the DiGS scheme by clicking here. A link showing current LHA figures can be found on this page of the East Ayrshire Council website. Below you will find a list of Frequently Asked Question's regarding the DiGS scheme. Click on a question to view details.
What is the Deposit Guarantee Scheme? The Deposit Guarantee Scheme (DIGS) is managed by the Community Housing Advocasy Project (CHAP) and is jointly funded by EAC and Ayrshire and Arran NHS. DIGS provides the 'guarantee' of a rent deposit, payable to the landlord, at the end of the tenancy if it occurs during the guarantee period, if any loss or damage is incurred. The deposit enables those on a low income and unable to raise the deposit on their own, to access the private sector. Back to top. The guaranteed deposit is the lowest amount between the rent per calender month set by the landlord and the Local Housing Allowance as estimated by EAC. Back to top. How long is the guarantee in place for? This will vary from between 6 and 12 months dependant on the tenant's personal circumstances, their support needs and the duration of the tenancy agreement. Our aim is for the tenant to pay half the amount in the first 6 months and the remainder within 12 months ownership of the deposit. Research has shown that where tenants have been involved in saving a deposit, they are less likely to abscond or damage the property. This would also protect the scheme from having too many deposits in place at one time and therefore putting it at risk of not being sble to meet all potential claims. Back to top. What is covered by the guarantee? The deposit guarantee would cover any damage to the property or loss of rent up to the agreed value. This would also cover the situation where the tennant abandons the tennancy without notice and there is a loss of rent. However with a database of tenants available it would be hoped that the property could be re-let quickly therefore minimising the amount of rent loss. Loss or damage would cover all items not covered by household insurance, including wall and floor coverings. Back to top. What will not be covered by the guarantee? It will not cover:
Are all landlords able to access the scheme? Landlords would be expected to meet a range of good practice criteria (as recommended by Homepoint, Communities Scotland), to be involved in the scheme. This would include:
What are the criteria for tenants to access the scheme? The scheme has been developed for those who are:-
Due to the limitations of the single room rent for under 25's, the scheme will only include applicants over 25 years. The exception being where an applicant has dependants. Applications for the scheme should come via the EAC Housings Options Team or Social Work Department, self refferals, landlords, estate agents, or voluntary organisations. All applicants to the scheme will be interviewed by DiGS staff and asked to complete a detailed application form. Two references will be requested for each applicant. However, the landlord would have the final decision on whether to accept a client for his/her property. Back to top. How will the scheme be managed/ staffed? The scheme will be managed by the DiGs Co-ordinator and the DiGS Officer. Additional housing support will be provided by the established East Ayrshire Council Tenancy Support Team. Housing support would include assisstance with tasks such as; form filling, accessing benefits, budgeting and home making skills. Support needs of the tenant would be assessed by the DiGS staff. Support would be encouraged, but would not be compulsory for tenants. Back to top. How will tenants be matched up with properties? We will be developing two databases. One will be for potential tenants and the other for available properties. As and when a Landlord has a property available they will notify us and and we will update this information. We hope in this way we are able to match the landlord up with a tenant within a relatively short period of time. Back to top. Will the Housing Benefit payments be set up quicker? At the moment we are not in a position to fast track housing benefit claims within the scheme due to the cost implications of this. However it is in the interest of the scheme as well as the Landlord to ensure that the benefits are in place as soon as possible. As part of our procedure we will ensure that Housing Benfit forms are completed on the day that the tenancy begins and we will follow the progress of the application at 4 weeks. Where the tenant is requesting the Housing Benefit to be paid direct to the landlord, DiGS staff will fill in the application for this and submit it with the Housing Benefit form and the gathered evidence at the beginning of the tenancy. To access the scheme the tenant must sign to agree that any Local Housing Allowance payments are paid immediately to the landlord, where DiGS cannot override these payments being made to the landlord. The tenant must also advise DiGS of any changes with any Housing Benefit claim. Housing Benefit checks will be carried out by DiGS staff in relation to tenants placed through the scheme. Back to top. What happens at the beginning of the tenancy? DiGS staff will send a Pre-property Inspection list to the landlord when registering the property with the scheme, this enables DiGS staff to assess it's suitability for the scheme. Any issues raised from the Pre-property inspection list are addressed prior to sign-up. Once a suitable tenant has been identified DiGS staff will arrange for them to view the property with the Landlord. All tenants will have been interviewed and references will have been requested. DiGS staff will then assist the tenant to establish the Local Housing Allowance allocation payable towards the identified property. On completion of this an entry date will be agreed. When the tenant is moving in, DiGS staff will accompany them and complete the necessary paperwork for the scheme including an inventory and inspection checklist with the Landlord. At this stage the tenancy agreement will be signed by both the tenant and Landlord. Back to top. What happens during the tenancy? The DiGS staff will keep in contact with the tenant and provide support as and when reqired. Back to top. How and when will the deposit be re-paid? We would hope to have the deposit paid within the 12 month period. At the start of the tenancy we will issue the tenant with a payment book. The tenant will be supported to make weekly payments into the CHAP holding account. This will also be assessed during the duration of the guaranteed period. Back to top. What happens at the end of the tenancy? Prior to the tenancy commencing, the DiGS staff would be involved in drawing up an inventory and an inspection checklist with the landlord and tenant. At the end of the tenancy if it falls in the term of the guarantee there would be a joint inspection of the tenancy with the landlord, DiGS staff and the tenant to agree any amount of deposit being claimed. A meeting would also be arranged with the DiGS co-ordinator, the landlord and the tenant 4 months into the agreement to discuss the progression of the tenancy in relation to the deposit. This would also allow 2 months notice to be given where required. Thereafter the period of notice required by both parties would be as per the lease. Back to top. At the end of the tenancy if it falls in the duration of the guaranteed period the landlord and the DiGS staff will meet to agree any damage or loss to be claimed. A claim form should then be completed by the landlord with full details of the items to be replaced/repaired. This should include two estimates for each item. The claim must be received by DiGS staff no later than 28 days after the date of inspection, it is then processed and if upheld by EAC a cheque is sent to the landlord. Proof of purchase/repairs will be required thereafter. Back to top. Can tenants use the scheme more than once? Tenants are able to access the scheme on more than one occasion. However, those using the scheme a second time are refused assistance if they have stolen or caused damage at the previous address, or are in debt to the Council in respect of the first guarantee. Back to top. What are the benefits for the Landlord?
How can I find out more about the scheme? You can contact DiGS staff who can offer any further information or advice required. We can also arrange to come out and talk to you, or your organisation, about the deposit scheme. Please contact:- Katrina Hunter or Andrea McVay Mob: 07939073695 E-mail: chap@chap.org.uk Back to top.
|
|
|---|
