Private residential tenancy in force from today
Private residential tenants who enter agreements from today will have more security under a new law that has just come into force.
Under the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016, the new private residential tenancy replaces the short assured and assured tenancies for all new leases. It has no set end date and can only be terminated by a tenant giving written notice to their landlord or by the landlord using one of 18 grounds for eviction. Tenants will have the right to challenge a wrongful termination.
Landlords will only be able to increase rent once a year and will have to give tenants three months’ written notice of any rise. Tenants can challenge this rise if they think it is unfair. Local authorities will also be able to apply to the Scottish Government to have an area designated as a rent pressure zone if they think rents are rising too much in a certain area.
A model form of lease has been published online. It includes mandatory clauses as well as some that can be varied by argeement.
While some landlords have expressed concern at the shift in the landlord-tenant balance, the legislation is intended to give them a more accessible repossession process and a simplified way to give notice.
Disputes including evictions will no longer be taken to the sheriff court but heard in the Housing & Property Chamber of the First-tier Tribunal.
Guides to the new law for landlords and for tenants have also been published
On a visit to see Shelter’s new online enquiry system and meet with tenants, Housing Minister Kevin Stewart said: "The private rental sector has grown substantially in recent years and now provides a place to call home for 760,000 people.
"This is the biggest change to the sector for a generation and will bring about significant improvements in private renting, benefiting both tenants and landlords."
Graeme Brown, Director of Shelter Scotland, commented: “Today represents a new dawn for all private renters in Scotland and these new laws bring unprecedented security of tenure to private renters with landlords now needing a good reason to evict tenants.
“We have campaigned passionately for 10 years now for reform of private renting, ending with our Make Renting Right campaign, which had extensive support from the public and local and national politicians. We are delighted that all those voices were listened to and we support today’s changes in the law.
“Shelter Scotland is pleased to be working with the Scottish Government on a major awareness raising campaign to ensure everyone involved in private renting – from tenants and landlords to letting agents and housing professionals – understand their new rights and responsibilities.”
For the Scottish Association of Landlords, chief executive John Blackwood added: "We have worked closely with the Scottish Government, tenants' groups and charities for a number of years on this new tenancy agreement and believe the final outcome will make life considerably easier for landlords. The improved and clarified grounds for eviction, alongside a clearly defined process which we campaigned for, will further help streamline the sector."
He hoped it would be "easier to identify rogue landlords and drive them out of the sector whilst encouraging the overwhelming number of landlords who act responsibly to play their part in increasing the supply of housing available in Scotland".