Consultation Response: Introduction of a Tenant Information Pack in the Private Rented Sector

Shelter Scotland welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the Introduction of a Tenant Information Pack (TIP) in the Private Rented Sector. The duty placed on landlords to provide a Pack is an important step in ensuring tenants in the private rented sector are well informed of their rights and duties.

Shelter Scotland believes that the pack should be made available online with a downloadable checklist and questionnaire to be completed by the landlord on specific information on the tenancy and property.

The language and format of the pack should be designed with the tenant in mind. It should therefore distil any legal language and regulations into easy to use information about what this means for the tenant. Shelter Scotland has significant expertise in writing and developing information in a variety of formats and we would welcome the opportunity to be involved in the final drafting of the TIP.

The pack is an important step but we believe that on its own it is not enough to ensure that tenants have access to good quality advice and information. We propose that the pack should be made available direct to tenants, through a web hub which would provide comprehensive and tailored information, advice and a guide to renting in Scotland. Shelter Scotland has produced a proposal for developing and running this web hub and we would welcome further discussion with the Scottish Government on how it would be delivered.