Private rented tenancies
A private tenancy is a home a person rents from a private landlord or company. When you start renting from a private landlord, they must give you a legal tenancy agreement which will outline the terms. This page contains some information on private renting however, you can access comprehensive guidance on your rights as a tenant on the Shelter Scotland website.
1. What are private residential tenancies (PRT)?
3. Tenancy began before 1st December 2017
4. Ending my tenancy without notice
1. What are Private Residential Tenancies?
Tenancies of separate dwellings, beginning after 1st December 2017 are likely to be Private Residential Tenancies, which are not for a fixed term. Private Residential Tenants have more protection, because the landlord can only seek to end the tenancy if one of 18 grounds apply (not just because he or she wishes to end the tenancy).
2. How can PRTs be ended?
The landlord wishes to end the tenancy
The landlord must issue a notice if he or she wishes to bring a PRT to an end. This notice must say which of the 18 specific grounds for eviction apply. You must be given at least 28 days’ notice and up to 84 days’ notice depending on the length of the tenancy.
The full list of grounds are in Schedule 3 of the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016.
If you are served with a notice, and you move out of the property (either when the notice expires, or before), the tenancy comes to an end. If you stay on, the landlord can apply to the First Tier Tribunal, who will issue an eviction order, if the landlord can show that one or more of these grounds applies. The Tribunal cannot issue an eviction order under any other ground.
- Sub-tenants - If there are people in the property who are sub-tenants of the main tenant, the Tribunal can include them in the eviction order, but must allow them the chance to have their say first.
- Wrongful Termination Order - If it can be shown that the Tribunal was misled into issuing an eviction order by the landlord, the Tribunal can be asked to issue a 'Wrongful-Termination Order'. This would require the landlord to pay damages of up to 6 months' rent (the Tribunal decides the amount).
Also, if the landlord misleads a Private Residential Tenant into leaving the property during (or at the end of) the notice period, so that the tenancy automatically ends, the former tenant can ask the Tribunal to issue a 'Wrongful-Termination Order'.
When the Tribunal issues a 'Wrongful-Termination Order', the local Council receives a copy. This could affect the landlord's ability to rent property in the future.
The tenant wishes to end the tenancy
You have to give your landlord at least 28 days' notice in writing if you want to end the tenancy (unless you ask for shorter notice and they agree in writing).
The notice period will begin on the day your landlord gets your notice, and ends 28 days after that date.
You cannot give notice before you move into the let property. Your notice has to be given 'freely and without coercion'. This means your landlord must not have pressured you into leaving. If your landlord tries to persuade or force you to leave without following the correct legal process then they could be carrying out an illegal eviction. This is a criminal offence in Scotland. An example of an illegal eviction by coercion could be carrying out work that makes it impossible for you to continue to stay in the property, e.g. removing the toilet or stopping the drinking water supply.
You and your landlord can agree a different notice period. But this must be in writing and can only be done once you have started to live in the let property. Your agreement to change the notice period must be given 'freely and without coercion'. If your landlord has inserted a longer notice period into you tenancy agreement before your started living in the let property, the notice period will be invalid and the 28 day notice period will apply.
If you give your landlord notice but then change your mind before it ends, you can ask them to continue the tenancy instead. It's up to your landlord to decide whether to agree.
To end a joint tenancy, all the joint tenants must agree to end the tenancy and sign the notice to leave. One joint tenant cannot terminate a joint tenancy on behalf of all the joint tenants.
3. Tenancy began before 1st December 2017
If your tenancy began before the 1 of December 2017, it is likely you will have either a short assured or an assured tenancy. More information on short assured tenancies can be found here. Information of assured tenancies can be found here.
4. Ending my tenancy without notice
If you leave your tenancy without giving proper notice, or before the end of the tenancy, you will still be liable for the property and the rent. Your Landlord cannot force you to vacate a property, without an Eviction Order. Any other actions on behalf of the Landlord could be seen as harassment and/or Illegal eviction. Even after the expiry of the tenancy dates and/or a notice to quit date, you may remain living in a property until court directs otherwise. For more information, see our topic on Eviction