Applying for help from the Scottish Legal Aid Board
This content applies to Scotland only.
Housing laws vary between Scotland and England. Get advice relating to England
This page tells you how to apply for help with your legal costs from the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) including what information you'll have to provide. It also contains other useful hints and tips.
What kind of help should I apply for?
If you've got a housing problem, you're most likely to be applying for 'civil legal assistance'. This type of funding is made up of:
- advice and assistance, and
- civil legal aid.
Read our page on what legal aid covers for more information on these different types of funding and what they are for. The financial limits for eligibility for civil legal aid changed substantially on 7 April 2009 so it's worth double checking to see whether or not you're eligible even if:
- you've applied for legal aid in the past but you weren't eligible
- you've never applied for legal aid before but have been told in the past that you wouldn't be eligible
- you think you won't be eligible because of your income or any savings you may have
- you think you may have to pay a contribution towards any legal aid you're awarded and you're worried that you can't afford it
- you think legal aid won't apply to your case (for example, if your case is about mortgage rights).
How many applications do I have to make?
If you wish to apply for both advice and assistance and civil legal aid, you'll have to make two separate applications. When making an application, it's important that you provide all the information that you're asked for by either your solicitor of the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB).
When should I apply?
Your solicitor can tell you whether you need to apply for advice and assistance, or civil legal aid, or both.
If you qualify for advice and assistance, so long as you bring all the information about your financial situation with you and complete the application form, your solicitor will usually be able to grant your advice and assistance the first time you go to see them.
If your case is going to court and you want to apply for civil legal aid, you will have to apply to SLAB, and complete a separate application form. Your solicitor will tell you when you need to do this and go over the necessary paperwork with you. Again, you must give them all the information they ask for.
In a few circumstances, your solicitor may be able to do some work for you urgently before SLAB has decided on your application. This might happen, for example, where you need to defend an action raised against you by the council or a housing association because they're trying to get you evicted.
What information does my solicitor need?
Your solicitor needs lots of information about both your income and your assets (and those of your partner) to complete the advice and assistance form on your behalf. They'll also have to see evidence of your income and assets including:
- your payslips (if you have a job)
- pension or benefits books
- bank statements
- your National Insurance number
- savings accounts statements (if you have any).
If you are married, in a civil partnership or living with a partner, your solicitor will need to see the same information for them as well, unless:
- you are separated
- they are the reason you're getting legal advice
- it would be unfair or too difficult to get the information.
If you decide to apply for civil legal aid, you'll have to complete and sign a financial eligibility form. You may also have to send SLAB evidence of some of the information on the form. Your solicitor will fill in a form giving details about the case, and you'll also have to sign this.
If your solicitor or SLAB asks you to produce any documentation, you must get it to them as soon as possible as they need it to process your application forms. If you don't provide all the information they need, this could hold up your application and cause problems and delays with the legal advice you receive.
What if I give inaccurate information?
You must give full and accurate information about yourself, your financial situation and your case when applying for any funding from the Scottish Legal Aid Board. It's a criminal offence to lie or give false information.
SLAB can check the information you provide, for example, by contacting your employer or the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), and if they have any reason to think that you have given false information or have held back important facts they can:
- stop paying towards your legal costs
- make you repay the costs of your case
- ask for you to be prosecuted.
Can my opponent object to my application?
Yes. They can either object to your application or the actual granting of legal aid if you qualify for it. This is because, if you get funding from SLAB, it could affect your opponent - for example, if you win the case, the court may order them to pay your costs.
When you apply for legal aid, SLAB will normally send a form to your opponent telling them that you have done so. If your opponent has objections that they want SLAB to take into account before deciding on the application, they can write to SLAB within 14 days of the date that SLAB told them about your application. If your opponent lives outside the UK, they have 28 days in which to object.
Your opponent may want to object to your application because, for example:
- they have reason to believe that you don't qualify financially (for example, that you haven't declared some of your income or assets to SLAB)
- they think you're living with someone but haven't told SLAB about it
- they think it's unreasonable for public money to be used to fund the case.
If SLAB receives objections relevant to your case that might influence their decision on your application, they will discuss them with you or your solicitor. It's very important that you give full and accurate information to both your solicitor and SLAB at all times. It's a criminal offence if you don't (see 'what if I give inaccurate information?' above).
Your opponent can object at any time after you apply, even if you've already been granted legal aid. However, they have to provide SLAB with new information about you or the case - they can't just object to be difficult.
How does SLAB decide?
SLAB will decide that you qualify for legal aid if:
- you are financially eligible
- you have a legal basis or 'probable cause' for your case
- it's reasonable for you to receive legal aid (for example, it may not be reasonable to grant legal aid if your case will cost much more than it is worth, or it looks unlikely that you will succeed)
- you can't get financial help from anyone else, such as a trade union or insurance company.
- you've applied for legal aid in the past but you weren't eligible
- you've never applied for legal aid before but have been told in the past that you wouldn't be eligible
- you think you won't be eligible because of your income or any savings you may have
- you think you may have to pay a contribution towards any legal aid you're awarded and you're worried that you can't afford it
- you think legal aid won't apply to your case (for example, if your case is about mortgage rights).
What happens if my application is refused?
If your application for legal aid is refused, the Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) will tell you and your solicitor why. Your solicitor can ask SLAB to look at your application again. This usually has to be done within 15 days of the date of the original refusal letter.
If SLAB still refuses your application after this, you might be able to apply for a judicial review of the decision, although this will only happen in a few cases.
Alternatively, you can ask your solicitor to submit a new application on your behalf. If your circumstances have changed (for example, if you lose your job and have less income), SLAB may reach a different decision on your eligibility.
Your solicitor will be able to advise you on what to do in your situation.
Where can I find out more?
The Scottish Legal Aid Board (SLAB) has produced a very useful guide to civil legal aid. Your solicitor will give you a copy of this before you apply for civil legal aid, or you can download a copy here.
SLAB and your solicitor can also provide more detailed information on the new limits on financial eligibility for civil legal aid. These rules changed on 7 April 2009 and the limits for eligibility changed substantially so it's well worth getting more information on these new rules even if:
- you've applied for legal aid in the past but you weren't eligible
- you've never applied for legal aid before but have been told in the past that you wouldn't be eligible
- you think you won't be eligible because of your income or any savings you may have
- you think you may have to pay a contribution towards any legal aid you're awarded and you're worried that you can't afford it
- you think legal aid won't apply to your case (for example, if your case is about mortgage rights).
If you think you may be eligible for some legal aid, but you're worried that you may have to pay a contribution and that you won't be able to afford this, don't panic! Contact SLAB as soon as possible. They may be able to work out a way for you to pay your contribution by installments which you can afford.
Your solicitor will be able to give you more information in your individual case.
Alternatively, you can contact SLAB directly or visit their website. It contains lots of useful information including:
- information leaflets that you can download
- how to get in touch with a legal aid solicitor
- an online calculator that helps you to work out whether or not you're eligible for help from them
- a telephone helpline number for you to use.
