The eviction ban and rent cap

The eviction moratorium and the rent cap ended on 31 March 2024.

The rest of the information in this guide is for reference only.

There was a limited ban on the enforcement of evictions in Scotland. During this time landlords could still issue a valid eviction notice to a tenant on any applicable ground and obtain an order from the Sheriff Court or First-tier Tribunal during the moratorium.

The eviction moratorium ended on 31 March 2024. [1] Eviction orders can be enforced as normal after this date.

When restrictions applied to an eviction order, it could not be enforced until 6 months after the order was granted, or until 31 March 2024, whichever date was sooner. [2]

Some grounds were not subject to the ban, and some temporary grounds were introduced. For evictions sought under those grounds, sheriff officers could enforce eviction orders as normal.

The ban applied to clients who rent from:

• a private landlord or letting agency

• the council or a housing association

• college or university halls or purpose built student accommodation

The ban did not apply if an eviction order was granted in any of the following circumstances:

• the landlord had an eviction application accepted by the court/tribunal before 6 September 2022

• the landlord had served notice to the tenant before 6 September 2022 and applied to the tribunal before 28 October 2022

The eviction enforcement ban did not apply to:

• non-tenant occupiers

• other common law tenancies, such as where a client lives with their landlord

Grounds to which the eviction enforcement ban did not apply

The eviction enforcement ban did not apply to certain grounds.

In any case, reasonableness must always have been considered. For example, the court or tribunal must have taken into account whether any arrears were caused by delays to the payment of certain benefits. We have guidance on considering reasonableness in rent arrears cases.

Private residential tenancies

The following grounds were not affected by the ban on eviction enforcement:

• Ground 1A: Landlord intends to sell due to significant financial strain (a new temporary ground)

• Ground 2: Property to be sold by lender

• Ground 4A: Landlord intends to live in the property to avoid their own homelessness (a new temporary ground)

• Ground 8: Not an employee

• Ground 10: Tenant not occupying let property

• Ground 12A: Rent arrears amount to 6 months or more worth of rent (a new temporary ground)

• Ground 13: Criminal activity

• Ground 14: Anti-social activity

• Ground 15: Association with person who has relevant conviction or engaged in relevant anti-social behaviour [3]

Scottish secure and short Scottish secure tenancies

The following grounds were not affected by the ban on eviction enforcement:

• Ground 1: Rent arrears of £2250 or more (modified by the act)

• Ground 2: Using the house for illegal or immoral purposes or other criminal offences

• Ground 5: The tenant is absent from the property

• Ground 7: Anti-social behaviour or conduct amounting to harassment

• Ground 8: Nuisance, annoyance or conduct amounting to harassment

• Ground 10: Demolition of, or substantial work on, the property

• Ground 14: Islands council as education authority [4]

Assured tenancies

The following grounds were not affected by the ban on eviction enforcement:

• Ground 1A: Intent to live in house to alleviate financial hardship (a new temporary ground)

• Ground 2: House to be sold by lender

• Ground 8A: Substantial rent arrears of 6 months rent or more (a new temporary ground)

• Ground 15: Conviction for certain offences, acting in an anti-social manner or pursuing a course of anti-social conduct

• Ground 17: Employment with landlord ceases [5]

Tenancies under the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984, including regulated tenancies

The following cases were not affected by the ban on eviction enforcement:

• Case 1A: Substantial rent arrears of 6 months rent or more (a new temporary ground)

• Case 2: Nuisance, annoyance or conviction for using or allowing dwelling-house to be used for immoral or illegal purposes

• Case 7: Employment with landlord ceases

• Case 8A: Intent to live in the house to alleviate financial hardship (a new temporary ground)

• Case 11: Owner-occupier’s house to be sold by lender

• Case 12: Owner’s house to be sold by lender [6]

Common law tenancies in student accommodation

The following reasons for eviction were not affected by the ban on enforcement:

• antisocial behaviour

• criminal behaviour [7]

For any other eviction ground in private and social tenancies, the moratorium applied.

Social and private landlords must still have met pre-action requirements before starting eviction action on the basis of arrears.

Check our guidance on:

• Pre-action requirements in social tenancy evictions

• The pre-action protocol in private tenancies

Where a client needs to defend an eviction case either at the Sheriff Court or the First-tier Tribunal, they should be referred to a specialist housing solicitor for representation.

Increased damages for unlawful eviction

The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 temporarily increased the Sheriff Court and First-tier Tribunal's powers to set a new minimum and maximum rate of financial compensation for unlawful eviction. Where a tenant is illegally evicted during the lifespan of the Act, the court or tribunal may award a minimum of 3 months' worth of rent and a maximum of 36 months' worth of rent. [8]

Clients wishing to make an application for damages for unlawful eviction should be referred to a specialist housing solicitor.

The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 set a ‘permitted rate’ of increase to 3% for private rented sector tenancies. [9]

The rent cap expired on 31 March 2024. Any rent increase notice served on or before this date was subject to the cap, even if the rent increase would take effect after this date.

To raise the rent by more than 3% after the expiry of the cap, landlords must serve a valid rent increase notice on or after 1 April 2024. They can only do so if the rent has not been increased in the previous 12 months.

There are new temporary measures for rent adjudication. Tenants who receive a rent increase notice can apply to Rent Service Scotland or, if applicable, the First-tier Tribunal (Housing and Property Chamber). The rent will be set based on the open market rate and a taper formula. [10] We have guidance on rent increase procedures in:

• private residential tenancies

• statutory assured tenancies

Private rented sector exceptions to the cap

If a private landlord incurred relevant costs in connection with the let tenancy in the 6 months prior to increasing the rent, they could:

• issue a valid rent increase notice

• apply to Rent Service Scotland

• prove to a rent officer that the increase is as a result of incurred costs

Relevant incurred costs were limited to:

• mortgage or standard security interest

• an insurance premium (other than general building and contents insurance)

• service charges paid for by the landlord but the payment of which the tenant is responsible for under the tenancy

If the rent officer agreed to the increase, it could be set at the lower of:

• 6% higher than the existing rent, or

• 50% of the incurred costs

If either the tenant or landlord were aggrieved by the rent officer’s decision, they could appeal it by applying to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber). [11]

Tenancies not affected

The rent increase cap did not apply to all tenancies. Rents could still be increased as normal in:

• statutory assured tenancies where the landlord varied the terms of the contract in the year following the conversion of the assured tenancy to a statutory assured tenancy under section 17 of the 1988 Act

• contractual assured tenancies which include a term making provision for an increase in rent (including provision whereby the rent for a particular period will or may be greater than that for an earlier period) [12]

• tenancies under the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984, such as a regulated tenancy

• common law tenancies, including where the tenant lives with their landlord

• agricultural tenancies