The new private residential tenancy regime introduced by the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 will come into force on 1 December 2017.
Existing short assured tenancies which are in place before 1 December 2017 will continue but there are provisions which deal with the situation where a short assured tenancy is passed on to a successor. It will not be possible to create short assured tenancies after 1 December 2017.
We have previously posted a legal update which summarises the main points relating to the new tenancy regime.
The key feature of the new regime is increased security of tenure for tenants – the tenancy can only be terminated by the landlord on one of the 18 grounds specified in the legislation. These include that the landlord intends to sell the property or refurbish the property. The tenancy will be open ended – a landlord cannot terminate the tenancy simply because the fixed term has expired.
There is a list of lettings which are excluded from the regime, such as houses let within agricultural tenancies, student lets and holiday lets.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
