There is currently no formal abandonment procedure for the Private Rented Sector under the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988 (1988 Act).

Despite the property appearing abandoned, generally private landlords have no legal right to recover the property in absence of a court order.

The Private Rented Tenancies (Scotland) Act 2016 (2016 Act) introduced a new type of tenancy called the Private Residential Tenancy (PRT). One of the benefits of the new tenancy is that abandonment by the tenant is a basis upon which the landlord can

Since 2012, landlords in Scotland have been required to lodge security deposits in one of three approved tenancy deposit schemes. Landlords should by now be well aware of their obligations to lodge deposits within 30 working days and to provide tenants with specific information relating to the tenancy and the deposit. However, our LetLaw team regularly receive queries in relation to the amount of deposit which can legally be requested from tenants. Here are some of our most frequently asked questions about tenancy deposits Scotland.

The Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 will introduce a new tenancy regime to Scotland called the Private Residential Tenancy (PRT). This new tenancy is anticipated to take effect sometime in December 2017.

What happens to assured and short assured tenancies when the PRT takes effect?

The 2016 Act provides that a tenancy cannot be an assured or short assured tenancy if it is granted after the effective date. This means that from that date all residential tenancies let to individuals will, by default, constitute

Our blog headed 'Letting Agent Registration' (Less than) A Year To Go!' discussed the forthcoming requirements for letting agent registration following the enactment of the Letting Agent Registration (Scotland) Regulations 2016.

Anticipated Scottish Government guidance on letting agent registration has since been published and can be found here.

The guidance provides information on:

• who needs to register
• what you need to do before you register
• what training and qualifications you must have in place before you make your application
• guidance on protecting client money

IMMIGRATION CHECKS DO NOT YET APPLY TO LANDLORDS IN SCOTLAND! We previously blogged about the UK Immigration bill which proposed duties on landlords to carry out immigration checks on prospective tenants - essentially checking if someone has the right to rent.

The bill became law on 1^st December 2014 in connection with premises located in specific local authorities in England. On 1^st February 2016, the scheme was rolled out to the whole of England.

The UK Government now intends to roll out this

Regular readers of our blog will be aware that the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 made provisions for the mandatory letting agent registration, regulation and training requirements in Scotland.

The Letting Agent Registration (Scotland) Regulations 2016 were laid before the Scottish Parliament in December 2016 and will come into force on 31^st January 2018.

The Regulations require the most senior person in a letting agency business (unless they have no input into the letting agency's day-to-day running) and all persons directly concerned with managing and

Landlords should be aware that the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 introduced the requirement in Scotland for landlords to have an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) carried out on all electrical installations, fixtures and fittings within their rental properties. The requirement has been in place since 1^st December 2015 for any new tenancies entered into but from 1^st December 2016, all tenancies must have a valid EICR, a copy of which must be provided to the tenant.

The EICR lasts for 5 years and

In Scotland, prescription is the law that regulates the period in which parties can pursue claims. If I was raising a court action - how long have I got?

Most claims in law prescribe after five years, which means that a party wishing to make a claim after that five year period may be prohibited from successfully raising that claim.

There are certain other categories of claim to which specific periods apply, such as product liability, defamation and harassment.

The purpose of allowing this period

Earlier this month a Scottish letting agent pled guilty to an offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. What was perhaps surprising was that the 'offence' committed by the letting agents was the failure to lodge deposits with an approved tenancy deposit scheme on behalf one of their landlord clients.

In terms of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2011, a landlord has a duty to pay any deposit received from a tenant into an approved tenancy deposit scheme within 30 working

Notwithstanding the recent Brexit vote, the European Convention on Human Rights (EHCR) remains part of our law at least for now. It's impact on the social rented sector has been clear since the decision of the Supreme Court in Manchester City Council v Pinnock [2010] CSIH 78 (particularly Article 8: the right to respect to respect for private and family life). In short, in social rented eviction cases, the courts are required to balance the rights of the parties facing eviction and consider whether granting

Within the last few weeks, Scottish Ministers have advised stakeholders of their proposals for the training requirements for letting agents to go with the Code of Practice.

The training requirements will apply to the most senior person in a letting agency business (unless they have no input into the letting agency's day-to-day running) and all persons directly concerned with managing and supervising of a business letting agency work.

There must also be at least one person per office (where relevant letting agency work is carried

Most of the headlines for the Private Rented Sector (PRS) in Scotland have been grabbed by the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill, which was passed after the stage 3 debate this month and set to become an Act. However, before we get an entirely new tenancy regime for the PRS, the sector will have to grapple with mandatory letting agent registration and code of conduct.

Part 4 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 makes provision for the registration, regulation and training requirements for letting agents

The Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 17^th March 2016. The stated aim of the legislation is to create simpler tenancies, offer stability and security for private tenants and ensure predictability over rent increases. It also fundamentally changes the nature of the relationship between landlords and tenants from contractual to statutory. We will get a new tenancy type called a 'Private Rented Tenancy' which will replace the current Assured and Short Assured regime. The Scottish Government has yet

Part 4 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 makes provision for the registration, regulation and training requirements for letting agents in Scotland. The provisions include a mandatory register of letting agents with an associated 'fit and proper' person test, training requirements, a code of practice to which all letting agents must adhere and enforcement through the new First- Tier tribunal.

In February 2016, The Letting Agent Code of Practice (Scotland) Regulations 2016 were laid before the Scottish Parliament and are set to come into force

We are often asked by landlords about joint tenancies under an assured or short assured tenancy (if you have joint tenants under a Private Residential Tenancy, read this blog). Particularly where one joint tenant wishes to leave a rented property and gives proper written notice, but the other joint tenant wishes to stay.  What happens when a joint tenant leaves a property?

Technically, a vacating tenant who gives proper written notice in advance of a contractual end date or Ish, cannot create a situation where

A New Year is a time for new ideas, and we are now looking for yours. As Scotland's only not-for-profit tenancy deposit scheme, we are in a unique position to give something back to the private rented sector and so we are delighted to announce the launch of the SafeDeposits Scotland Trust.

The Trust is a new grant-giving charity aimed at promoting education, training and best practice in Scotland's private rented sector, by funding projects which provide tangible benefits to landlords, letting agents and tenants

The Stage 1 report into the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill (the Bill) from the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee has been published along with their recommendations. Evidence has been taken from various stakeholders in the Private Rented Sector (PRS) and the report and its recommendations were debated in the Scottish Parliament earlier this month. How will this affect student letting in Scotland?

The report can be downloaded here.

The Report makes some significant recommendations regarding Student Tenancies. The policy objective behind the Bill

With the introduction of bespoke software providers advertising the ability to execute residential leases electronically (digital signatures), we are regularly being asked -  can such services be used in Scotland?

The Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995 (RWA) does recognise electronic signatures as 'writing', and has done so since the commencement of the relevant parts of the Land Registration (Scotland) Act 2012.

I would point out that, in terms of the RWA, there is no requirement for leases of less than 12mths to be

The Scottish Housing Minister maintained that proposed changes to private rented tenancies would not impact landlords tackling anti-social behaviour. Highlighting that anti-social behaviour was "unacceptable"; the Housing Minister stated that landlords would continue to be entitled to pursue eviction of tenants based on anti-social behaviour under the new Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill 2015 (the Bill).

Whilst still in the preliminary stages, the Bill is set to introduce a number of changes which will affect the management of tenancies; such as introducing a new tribunal

From 1 December 2015, the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 will introduce changes in relation to the requirement for provision of carbon monoxide alarms in private rented housing.

The 2014 Act introduces an amendment to the Repairing Standard, which applies to all private rented housing. The Repairing Standard will be amended to include the additional requirement that "the house has satisfactory provision for giving warning if carbon monoxide is present in a concentration that is hazardous to health." The Act also says that regard must

On 1 July 2015, the Legal Writings (Counterparts & Delivery) (Scotland) Act 2015 came into force marking a significant change in the way that residential leases can be signed.

Although there have been arguments within the legal profession regarding whether or not counterpart signing has always been possible, this point has not been widely accepted. Prior to 1 July 2015, the general consensus was that all parties to a lease must sign one principal document. This caused issues, for example, when joint tenants resided abroad

The Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014 received royal assent on 15 April 2014. The Act essentially creates a framework for housing tribunal reform, and will be implemented in three phases. The first phase sees the creation of a new housing chamber, which will incorporate the current work of the Private Rented Housing Panel and Home Owner Housing Panel, as well as transferring work which is currently dealt with in the Sheriff Court system into the new chamber.

The housing tribunal will have a two tier structure.

In October 2014, the Scottish Government published their first consultation on the introduction of new tenancies for the private rented sector. Receiving over 2,500 responses from parties including tenants, landlords, letting-agents and other organisations, the Scottish Government have now issued a second consultation paper on private rented sector tenancies.

The new consultation paper amends, and in some cases, builds upon the initial proposals outlined in the previous consultation by drawing on responses received.

Unchanged Proposals:

• Removal of the 'No-Fault' Ground

Any Scottish Government Bill going

The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation & Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 replaced the Distance Selling Regulations & Door Step Selling Regulations. They make it an obligation for 'traders' to give 'consumers' certain information. Do your management agreements meet consumer contracts regulations?

From 13 June 2014, all distance, off-premises and on-premises contracts made will be subject to the 2013 Regulations. Contracts which pre-exist 13 June 2014, are governed by Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 and the Cancellation of Contracts made in a Consumer's Home or Place

In the case of Tenzin v Russell & Clark the landlords appealed to the Sheriff Principal against a decision to hold them liable to pay their tenant three times the deposit taken, having failed to lodge the deposit in a 'tenancy deposit' scheme. At the Appeal, Sheriff Principal Stephen upheld the previous decision and deemed the penalty reasonable to promote compliance with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme (Scotland) Regulations 2011.

Following Sheriff Principal Stephen's decision, Russell and Clark appealed further to the Inner House of the Court

Issued under sections 13(4A) and 19B(4) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, the Scottish Government has recently published guidance on mandatory electrical check requirements which shall come into force from 1^st December 2015.

The new requirements will apply to all Scottish privately rented properties covered by the Repairing Standard and will require landlords to have fixed wiring Electrical Installation Condition Report checks carried out at their properties at least every five years. Though the regulations will apply to all private tenancies, the fixed wiring

As we have discussed in recent blogs, Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) on the purchase of property is to be replaced in Scotland by the new Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT). The change is due to come into force on 1st April 2015. So what will this land and buildings transaction tax update mean for purchasers?

The Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney announced amended the proposed rates at which LBTT will be charged from those originally proposed in October 2014.

The threshold for paying

Do you know what a private landlords duties under the Immigration Act 2014 are?

The Immigration Act 2014 makes it more difficult for illegal migrants to live in the UK and addresses the small minority of private landlords who knowingly target and exploit illegal migrants.

The Act means private landlords have duties under the immigration act to confirm prospective tenants have a right to reside in the UK. Many letting agents and private landlords currently carry out ID checks on prospective tenants and retain copies

Picture the scene
You notice that your tenant is behind in their rental payments. You go to the property to speak with them however the tenant has disappeared. You have a look through the letterbox, only to see a pile of unopened mail and a house that appears to have been abandoned. You reach the conclusion that all signs point to the tenant having vanished, sadly without thinking to tell you first. So what happens when a tenant disappears?

You change the locks, dispose of

The Scottish Government has launched a consultation on proposed reforms to Private Rented Sector tenancies' in Scotland.

The consultation document proposes the most fundamental change to the private sector tenancy regime in Scotland since the introduction of Assured and Short Assured Tenancies in 1988.The proposals are wide reaching and could have a fundamental impact on the day-to-day operations of the Private Rented Sector throughout Scotland.

The stated aims of the proposed reforms are to improve security of tenure for tenants whilst giving suitable safeguards for

One of the most frequent problems faced by landlords is how they access a property when their tenant refuses to let them in. This is more common when the landlord/tenant relationship has broken down! What are landlord legal rights - accessing property is always a tricky issue.

Routine Access

Most tenancies should have a specific clause covering landlord's access to the property. Most of these clauses say that the tenant agrees to give the landlord access:

-  To carry out maintenance, repair or inspection
- 

Unfortunately it's not like it appears on TV! The reality of the court system in Scotland is very different and here we give landlords five tips on how to prepare for court appearances.

Sometimes it feels as if I've spent most of my life in court, but for landlords raising their own eviction or payment actions against tenants, the court can often be a scary place. Here are some handy tips to hopefully help calm any nerves.

1.Your Clothes
Sadly, some courts will judge a

April 2013 saw the introduction of changes to housing benefit which were dubbed the 'bedroom tax'. Over the course of the last 14 months our blogs have provided information on the introduction of these rules, the challenges to them and the cases which have been decided by tribunals. So is this Bedroom Tax, the final chapter?

During the last year, the Scottish government complained that they were being prevented from dealing with the impact of the bedroom tax by the rules which affected Discretionary Housing

Regulation of letting agents is sought by the Scottish Government through a new regulatory framework via the Housing (Scotland) Bill.

Currently there is no statutory regulation of letting agents in Scotland, which means that anyone can set up a letting agency, whether or not they have the appropriate experience or qualifications to do so.

The Bill seeks to introduce a formal register of letting agents, which aims to promote high standards of service and levels of professionalism, as well as giving landlords and tenants easy

Tenancy Deposit Scheme - Scottish landlord loses appeal against a decision made at Edinburgh Sheriff Court to hold them liable to pay their tenant three times the deposit taken, after their tenant took them to court over having failed to lodge their deposit in a tenancy deposit scheme.

In the case of Tenzin v Russell & Clark, the landlords had failed to pay a deposit into a tenancy deposit scheme. There was no dispute that they had failed to meet their obligations under the Regulations.

Who legally owns the attic space in Scottish Tenements? The ownership and maintenance of the attic space and roof of a tenement block can cause significant confusion for flat owners. Despite statements to the contrary, the legal position relating to these parts of the tenement has not been altered significantly following the enactment of the Tenements (Scotland) Act 2004.

Ownership

The key starting point when seeking to determine ownership of the "common parts" of a tenement will be to consult the title deeds for all flats

The Scottish Government has issued the draft Housing Bill. The Bill covers a wide range of issues but one of the most significant is the plan for letting agent regulation in Scotland.

The Bill proposes a register of letting agents. Agents will be required to apply to be entered into the register and will only be admitted if deemed to be fit and proper to carry out letting agency work.

When looking into whether an applicant is fit and proper, the Scottish Ministers can take

In what is thought to be the first of its kind in Scotland, the City of Edinburgh Council has seized control of two "party flats" from a private landlord after applying for Management Control Orders (MCO). What are the implications for landlords? This Order was brought in under the Antisocial Behaviour Etc (Scotland) Act 2004, which created a number of powers for police, local authorities and Registered Social Landlords to deal with antisocial behaviour. The City of Edinburgh Council may be the first to use

There has been much speculation in the media regarding the proposed Immigration Bill, which will include duties to carry out immigration checks by landlords on prospective tenants. Although there were reports that these provisions would be scrapped, Home Secretary Theresa May confirmed her plans to press ahead with these. This is anticipated to become law by 2014 (subject to approval by MPs).

Will carrying out immigration checks by?landlords be necessary?

The Aims of Bill

In a bid to tackle the social and economic problems caused

Two tenancy deposit scheme decisions issued by Edinburgh Sheriff Court have given some insight on how the courts are going to treat the sanctions available under the tenancy deposit scheme regulations in Scotland.

In Fraser and Pease v Meehan, the landlord had failed to lodge the deposit with the scheme and provide the prescribed information. He claimed he wasn't aware of the scheme and the duties that came with it, as he lived in Australia.

The Sheriff,

• reiterated the importance of the regulations in ensuring

Landlords, both private and social, may require access to one of their tenanted properties for a variety of different reasons. So, can landlords force access to a property?

Landlords have a general duty to repair and maintain properties throughout the duration of a tenancy and are legally obliged to comply with gas and electricity safety regulations so access may be necessary on occasion.

A landlord may also wish to carry out a general inspection to ascertain the current condition of the property or may wish

The outbreak of Legionnaires Disease in the Renfrew area, following on from an Edinburgh outbreak in 2012, is a timely reminder to private landlords that they have obligations to carry out legionnaires risk assessments of water systems within their rental properties.

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) have an Approved Code of Practice and Guidance as regards Legionnaires Disease. The Code can be found here.

The Code confirms that private landlords have a duty to carry out legionnaires risk assessments on water systems in

It is, thankfully, relatively unusual for a seller of a property to be faced with a buyer who pulls out of a house sale and refuses to fulfil their obligations under a contract. But it sometimes it does! So what happens when a buyer pulls out of a house sale?

On the rare occasions that this does occur, it has generally been accepted that the seller's best option is to rescind the contract ('missives' as they are known in Scotland) and to claim damages from

Clive Betts MP recently launched a scathing attack on "cowboy" letting agents, accusing them of ripping off both landlords and agents. His proposals for a crackdown on the industry as a whole will only be applicable to England and Wales but the Scottish Government has made it clear that letting agent regulation is high on their agenda. Many agents in Scotland act within the law and provide an excellent service to landlords. However as with the "rogue" landlords, there are rogue letting agents who give

Is rent in advance legal? We blogged on the outcome of the English case of Johnson and Ors against Old, which concerned a tenant who had paid six months rent in advance. The court held that this payment of rent did not fall under the definition of a deposit. The decision was based on the wording of the Tenancy Agreement as well as the intentions of the landlords and tenant.

We've received many queries from clients regarding the issue of taking rent in advance. In

As a factor, how can you ensure your factoring paperwork is legal. Should you use deeds of conditions or a written statement of services?

The establishment of the Homeowner Housing Panel (HOHP), provides a forum for homeowners to challenge whether their property manager / factor has failed to carry out their factoring duties, or breached the Code of Conduct. The most important decision from the HOHP thus far can be found in a recent case brought by Mr Park against Hacking and Paterson  (the Factor).

The Green Deal in Scotland encourages homeowners and tenants to introduce energy saving measures to their properties. It has been promoted as a solution to solving some of the problems which put off individuals financing energy saving improvements to their homes. 

When Green Deal finance has been obtained there is no requirement to repay the loan in the standard way, instead the money is recouped by the energy supplier by way of added charges to their energy bill. Another feature is that the obligation does

Funny how you can stomach a rotten meal if you keep telling yourself it's not actually that bad. As the first witnesses to the Bedroom Tax Inquiry being held by the UK Parliament's Scottish Affairs Committee last week, the SFHA's Mary Taylor and I couldn't quite be sure what the Committee's approach would be. With five Labour MPs, three Conservatives and two Liberal Democrats, would views stick to party lines, and in some cases did we even know what those lines were?

Well, it's good

Where a decree has been awarded in favour of a creditor and payment is not forthcoming after a charge for payment has been issued, a creditor may consider applying to make the debtor bankrupt to recover sums due. How can you use bankruptcy to recover debt in Scotland?

If a debtor is declared bankrupt, their full estate including their home will be handed over to the appointed trustee (usually the accountant in bankruptcy). It is the duty of the trustee to sell the debtor's assets

Earlier LetLaw blogged about new rules requiring Scottish landlords to include the energy rating from an Energy Performance Certificate on their adverts for let. As of 1^st June 2013, all landlords in Scotland are going to have to expand the word count on their adverts with yet more changes to legislation on letting agent adverts.

The Scottish Government have finally introduced section 6 of the Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Act 2011. This requires all landlords to include their landlord registration number on letting adverts