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At the time when I visited the rent deposit scheme, which was about a year ago, there were issues to do with Covid and people moving in and out again reasonably quickly. I am not too sure why there was that increase at that time. Charlotte McHaffie might have something else to say on that.

There is an onus on the landlord to take as much information as possible at the start of the process. If a tenant changes their only email address or their mobile phone number, which could be their only number, it becomes difficult. As I said, the onus is on the landlord to get as much information as they can. There is also a responsibility on the tenant to provide as much information as possible, but it should be made clear at the start of the process that there is a substantial amount of money sitting there.

You mentioned the substantial increases, Mr MacDonald. I imagine that the situation is partly down to Covid, but it is not just about that. We cannot have a situation where an international student changes their email address and is forgotten about. There are also questions about how we liaise with universities and whether we get information from them. There are issues around the general data protection regulation, but we have to maximise the information that we have on tenants, because a substantial amount of money is sitting there.

The bill touches on how the money may be used, which is restricted. It mentions the provision of

“information or assistance to private tenants in relation to their rights”

and

“other services or facilities that promote or support the interests of such tenants”,

and work that involves

“preventing private tenants from becoming homeless”.

The funds can be used, but we have to discuss how we support tenants specifically. I think that deposits are treated as unclaimed after five years. We need to decrease the amount of money that is unclaimed and, if we cannot reduce the money that is left, ensure that it is used to protect and support tenants’ rights.

I am happy to discuss that in more detail. In principle, it is something that we would consider. The Scottish Association of Landlords has discussed unscrupulous landlords. You mentioned that we are talking about only a small number of people, but how do we ensure that there is not an impact? You are right: the EPC is an important part of how information is provided, and the association recognises that. The association has to make sure that it is limiting the number of landlords such as that who are in place. There could be a carrot-and-stick approach, and the stick would be to include measures on that in the legislation.

I would be happy to talk about that in more detail, convener. I do not know whether Charlotte McHaffie or Catriona MacKean want to comment.

I am keen to look at that more broadly outwith the bill. I have met the Scottish Association of Landlords on a number of occasions, and we have another meeting coming up. One of the key issues is that there has to be a tripartite agreement and almost a strategic approach. That includes not just the Scottish Government, landlords and investors but local authorities. In discussions with local authorities, we are trying to work with them to understand what the private rented sector looks like in Glasgow and in Edinburgh and what other roles it has in other parts of Scotland. When I have meetings with local authorities, I always ask them about the role of their private rented sector.

I have a meeting with John Blackwood and the Scottish Association of Landlords to talk about what that approach looks like. How do we get a closer relationship between the Government, the rented sector and local authorities? We will explore that and see what we can do there. The private rented sector is an incredibly important part of striking the balance with housing, but it is different in every part of Scotland, so it needs slightly different approaches. That is an important aspect.

There are a number of things there. One concerns getting the balance right between protecting rents and the need for investment, as we need investment in various sectors. It comes down to supply and demand. We will move on to discuss rent controls, but we need to strike the right balance to encourage investment while protecting rents and keeping them at a reasonable level. We will touch more on the nuanced aspects of rent controls, but it is important to encourage investment. More broadly, when it comes to getting a more balanced rent control system in place, although we have had temporary measures, we now need to move on to a set of measures that encourage more balanced rent increases, as well as encouraging investment.

This is not covered in the bill itself, but I will mention a piece of work that we undertook with Ken Gibb, who was looking into affordability. The report on that—which I have referenced before—has just been submitted, and we are considering what it says. It will be taken into account in the broader discussions around rent controls. As I say, it comes down to supply and demand, and we need to increase the supply of housing—that is incredibly important. The bill covers rent controls, and it also considers how we can encourage investment. If we can encourage investment and keep rent controls at a certain rate, we will be able to build houses at a quicker rate as part of the all-tenures approach. That is the important aspect for me.

There is recognition of that. I touched on the data point earlier. The new deal for tenants touched on data.

I will touch on the specifics, but the relationship between local authorities, the Government and the PRS is important. How do we strengthen that? How do we ensure that there is a closer relationship at the local housing strategy level, investment level and planning level? What does that look like? That gives you the overarching relationship that I would like to develop, because it is important. I have discussed that with local authorities and the Scottish Association of Landlords. We have a meeting at which we will discuss that in a wee bit more detail, which is important.

There is already work under way on data, because we will need it to determine rent controls for local areas in the future. If we do not have data, we will make assumptions based on data that might not be accurate. The key thing is how we develop the data that is needed. We are discussing that in detail with local authorities.

Yvette might want to touch on that in more detail, but I have that discussion with councillor colleagues and officials. That is a key part. Yvette might want to add something else on the logistics of how it works, but there are continuing discussions.

I think that Yvette Sheppard touched on that. That is one of the key things in our discussions with local authorities and, for example, the Scottish Association of Landlords, because they have data on what that looks like. It is really important that we have that data, both on a local basis, because that will determine the size of the sector in Edinburgh, Glasgow and other local authorities, and nationally, because that will inform how we develop the PRS sector and the role that it plays in Scotland. There is a need for that. I hope to discuss that with local authorities and the SAL when we have a discussion relatively shortly.

There are a number of issues there, one of which relates to the general principle of improving tenants’ rights, which I touched on. That is one of the key issues. Awareness raising is important, and we have spoken to tenants groups about that.

The bill sets out information that landlords must include in advertisements for rental properties. One of the measures in the bill proposes to modify the existing duty on landlords to provide specified information to the tenant at that time. Both those aspects are required.

There is a need for general awareness raising, and we are talking to tenants groups about that. I regularly meet tenants groups, both locally and nationally. That issue has been raised not only in relation to rent controls but in the much broader context of renters’ rights and what we can do to support renters to make them aware of those rights. As you rightly recognised, not everybody who is a tenant is aware of their rights. We need to continue to work with tenants on that.

It is about that balance and what it looks like. There is a duty for both landlords and the Government to do that. We need to make sure that we are picking up the issue of tenants’ rights and raising awareness of them, and that duty also lies with the landlord.

Again, there is a whole discussion and debate about getting people into the sector and the regulation for single-property landlords, for example. It is about trying to strike that balance. The balance might move slightly, but I am confident that what is proposed in the bill is what we set out as our initial position.

We will continue to discuss that with other stakeholders and consider the committee feedback and what the bill would look like before it becomes law.

I am happy to pick that up offline, or you can contact me about that point.