SDS Resolve – free, independent resolution for landlords and tenants

SafeDeposits Scotland, the country’s leading tenancy deposit protection scheme, has a decade of experience in handling end of tenancy disputes surrounding deposit repayments. But did you know about SafeDeposits’ more recently introduced service which is designed to help landlords and tenants overcome issues at any point during a tenancy?

SDS Resolve is a mediation and conciliation service for resolving issues between landlords and tenants in Scotland’s private rented sector. The service aims to help avoid the need for taking further action, through the courts for example, and to help sustain tenancies by reducing the risk of eviction.

SDS Resolve was first introduced in the summer of 2020, under its original name of SDS Resolution, to help tackle an increase in rent arrears generated by the first Covid-19 lockdown. Tenants and landlords alike were affected by redundancies and furlough as the pandemic wrought havoc across numerous industries; this new service sought to prevent financial situations worsening by helping parties agree manageable repayment plans that would ease pressure on tenants while ensuring that landlords ultimately received the rent that was due to them.

The service has subsequently been expanded and can now additionally deal with disputes relating to property standards, repairs, entry rights, threatened evictions, breaches of tenancy terms, noise and anti-social behaviour, with the exception of serious anti-social activity cases.

As with SafeDeposits Scotland’s core tenancy deposit protection service, SDS Resolve is both free and easy to use. Landlords or tenants interested in using the service should visit www.sdsresolve.com and complete the short and simple interactive referral form. SDS Resolve will then contact the other party to establish if they are willing to work with the service to resolve the issue. If both parties are prepared to engage, a resolution appointment will be scheduled in a format that suits both parties and SDS Resolve will seek to reach a mutual agreement between the two. Visit www.sdsresolve.com today to find out more.