In its appeal, SafeDeposits is placing particular emphasis on tenants who provided an “ac.uk” or work email address to their landlord, letting agent or the scheme itself at the start of their tenancy. Universities and colleges typically deactivate students’ academic email addresses shortly after their time at the institution has ended, and with graduation season approaching this will be the case for many students in Scotland. Similarly, when changing jobs people naturally lose access to their former work email.

Potential outcomes of an unseen email from a tenancy deposit scheme could include: Delay in repayment of the deposit to the tenant; A deduction made from the deposit by the landlord or letting agent without the tenant’s knowledge.

SafeDeposits’ advice to tenants who have provided their academic or work email address as contact details is to change this to an alternative address before they leave the university, college or workplace. This can be done by logging in to the scheme’s online portal.

The scheme also has some recommendations for tenants in relation to management of bank details on its portal. The first is to apply the same logic as with contact details and ensure that bank details are entered and are correct, to avoid any delays in deposit repayment.

The second concerns any tenants who might be moving abroad directly after their tenancy ends. SafeDeposits recommends keeping your UK bank account open for a temporary period following your relocation, as international payments can take longer than those from one UK account to another. Depending on the territory, international payments can involve the requirement by the banks of additional steps, processing charges or other restrictions.

Carol Bradburn, head of SafeDeposits Scotland, said: “Graduation represents an exciting new era for those celebrating, and for many a move from their current rental property may happen in the weeks or months to follow. The return of a deposit will be crucial to future plans, such as securing a new rental, therefore it is vital that tenants take steps to keep themselves in the loop.”

“SafeDeposits Scotland currently holds approximately 8,000 unclaimed deposits for tenancies that have ended. These are deposits where the landlord has instructed repayment of funds to the tenant, and in many instances they remain unclaimed as a defunct email address means the tenant has not received the details on how to complete the repayment. It is also important for tenants to ensure that they have entered their bank details on their user account to ensure prompt payment.”

“It takes seconds to log in to the SafeDeposits Scotland portal and change your email address. This digital housekeeping may be something individuals want to consider for other organisations that send important information, such as banks, too.”