Private Rented Sector

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The Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill was introduced to parliament by Alex Neil MSP on 7 October 2015. The bill aims to give more security and predictability to tenants and should protect roughly 700,000 people from unfair eviction. The bill also aims to protect landlords through modernised initiatives to for repossession.

The Bill was passed by Parliament on 17 March 2016 and came into force on 1 December 2017. It replaces assured and short assured tenancy agreements for all new tenancies.

The new tenancy will:

  • be an open-ended tenancy, which means a landlord will no longer be able to ask a tenant to leave simply because the fixed term has ended
  • provide more predictable rents and protection for tenants against excessive rent increases
  • include the ability to introduce local rent caps for rent pressure areas
  • provide comprehensive and robust grounds for repossession that will allow landlords to regain possession in 18 specified circumstances

Any existing short assured and assured tenancies will continue, but new tenancies granted in the private rented sector from December 2017 will be private residential tenancies.

Further Guidance

Everything you need to better understand the new tenancy can be found here which includes guides for tenants and landlords along with a model private residential tenancy agreement.

How did Rural Housing Scotland respond to the consultation?

To view Rural Housing Scotland’s response to the 2014 consultation, click here.

 

To read the Scottish Land & Estates Rural Blog by Policy Officer, Katy Dickson, about how the policy was made, click here.