The Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016, which takes effect from 1 December 2017, will introduce the ‘private residential tenancy’. Its purpose is to improve security for tenants and provide safeguards for landlords, lenders and investors. We have studied the changes and below covers the landlord view.
The new tenancy will be open-ended and will last until a tenant wishes to leave the let property or a landlord uses one (or more) of 18 grounds for eviction.
Improvements for landlords include:
- no more confusing pre-tenancy notices, such as the AT5
- where a tenant is in rent arrears, a landlord can refer a case for repossession more quickly
- a Scottish Government recommended ‘model tenancy agreement’, which will include standardised tenancy terms
- a digital version of the Scottish Government ‘model tenancy agreement’, which will include discretionary terms that can be edited, allowing landlords to easily put together and send out a tenancy agreement suitable for their specific property
- one simple notice when regaining possession of a property called a ‘notice to leave’ – this will replace the current ‘notice to quit’ and ‘notice of proceedings’
- eighteen modernised grounds for repossession, which include new grounds where the property has been abandoned or the landlord intends to sell
In our opinion the introduction of Private Residential Tenancies is simply a legislative change which landlords should not be overly concerned with.
The Scottish Government website provides further information.
To find out more about letting your property in Edinburgh, call our letting team on 0131 473 1591, or use our online contact form.
