Breaking up when you have a joint tenancy

If you rent your home jointly with a partner and you plan to separate, try to decide together what to do. You could agree to end the tenancy and move out, or ask your landlord to change the existing tenancy if one of you wants to stay.

Your rights depend on the type of tenancy agreement you have.

Your rights are different if:

Check your tenancy agreement

Your tenancy agreement says who the named tenants are. Check whether you are a named tenant, or an occupier.

If you are both named tenants, you’ll need to decide if you want to:

end the tenancy and move out
change the tenancy to a sole tenancy agreement for one of you
assign one person’s part of the tenancy to someone else

Your rights depend on what type of tenancy agreement you have.

Ending your tenancy

If you want to end your tenancy, you’ll need to give the correct notice for your tenancy type.

Check our advice on ending your tenancy.

Private residential tenancy

You must both give notice if you and your ex-partner both want to leave. To do this you can:

sign the same written notice and post it to your landlord
sign the same written notice and email a photo or scanned copy to your landlord
both send your own notice by email, making sure the notice expires on the same day

If only one of you wants to leave, you can ask your landlord to change the tenancy. One person can stay in the tenancy on their own, or a new tenant could move in.

Your landlord may not agree to change the tenancy.

Get any agreement in writing, so that there are no misunderstandings.

Assured or short assured tenancy

If one of you gives your landlord valid notice, this ends the contract for both of you. If you're the only person who wants to leave, talk to your ex-partner before sending your notice.

At the end of the notice period the tenancy becomes a statutory assured tenancy.

This does not mean the other person has to leave. They still have a right to live in the property. They'll have to start paying the full rent amount, or come to an agreement with the landlord about getting a new tenant.

If you rent from the council or a housing association

If one person gives your landlord notice, this ends their part of the tenancy. The other person’s tenancy will continue, and they’ll become responsible for all of the rent after the notice period ends.

This is the same whether you have a Scottish Secure or Short Scottish Secure tenancy.

Paying rent

If you have a joint tenancy, you’re both equally responsible for the rent payments.

If one of you stops paying rent but your landlord has not ended or changed the tenancy, they can pursue both of you for the full amount. They can do this even if one of you has moved out. This is sometimes called joint and several liability.

Help with housing costs

You could be entitled to benefits to increase your income or grants to help with a temporary shortfall.

Check our advice on getting help with money and debt.

If you need to move out

If you cannot afford to stay in the home by yourself, you may need to consider other housing options to avoid getting into arrears.

You could consider:

If you're going to leave the home but you’d like to return in the future, get legal advice.

Your occupancy rights could be affected if you voluntarily move out. You may have to go to court to enforce your occupancy rights if you want to live in the home again.

Get help from the council if you’re homeless

You could be homeless if you have to leave your home or you're unsafe where you're staying. You do not have to be living on the streets to be homeless.

Check our advice on how the council must help if you’re homeless.

Getting mediation

A mediator can help you and your ex-partner make decisions about the home.

Some councils offer mediation services for families.

Find your local council’s website on mygov.scot.

If the council does not offer this service, find a mediator on the Scottish Mediation website.

Last updated: 23 July 2025