Your rights if you have a private residential tenancy

You probably have a private residential tenancy if you rent from a private landlord or letting agency, and your tenancy started on or after 1 December 2017. It's sometimes called a PRT.

A private residential tenancy has no end date. Your landlord cannot evict you without a valid reason.

Your landlord’s legal responsibilities

Most private landlords must be on a council register. Check if your landlord should be registered.

Providing a tenancy agreement

Your landlord must give you a tenancy agreement and notes that explain it. They can either:

• use the Scottish Government's model tenancy agreement and give you the easy read notes

• create their own tenancy agreement and give you the supporting notes

If your landlord has not given you these, check our advice on getting your landlord to give you a tenancy agreement.

Your landlord cannot put anything in your tenancy agreement that takes away your legal rights. For example, they cannot ask for more than 28 days’ notice if you want to end your tenancy.

Protecting your deposit

Your landlord can ask for up to 2 months’ rent as a tenancy deposit. They must pay it into a deposit protection scheme and send you the details within 30 working days of your tenancy starting.

If they do not, you can apply to the housing tribunal for compensation.

Check our advice on deposits.

Doing repairs and keeping your home safe

Your landlord is responsible for most repairs in your home.

They must also provide:

• a gas safety certificate

• an electrical safety certificate

• interlinked fire alarms

Check our advice if your landlord is not doing repairs.

Giving notice for access

If your landlord needs to access your home for repairs, inspections or valuations, they must give you at least 48 hours' notice in writing.

They can give less notice if they need access for emergency repairs.

You can refuse access if your landlord wants to visit at an unreasonable time or turns up unannounced.

Giving notice of a rent increase

Your landlord can increase your rent any time in the first year of your tenancy. They can increase it once every 12 months after that.

They must send you a rent increase notice at least 3 months before the change. See an example of a rent-increase notice on gov.scot.

You can challenge a rent increase if it's too high.

Check our advice on rent increases.

If your landlord does something wrong

If your landlord is not meeting their legal responsibilities, try talking to them before taking further action. They should resolve the issue. If they refuse, you can:

• make a complaint about your landlord

• take your landlord to the housing tribunal

If you rent from a letting agent

All letting agencies must follow the letting agent code of practice. Check the letting agent code of practice on gov.scot.

If they do not follow the code, you can make a complaint about your letting agency.

If your landlord wants you to leave

Your landlord or letting agent cannot just tell you to leave. They must:

• give you a valid eviction notice in writing

• apply to a tribunal for an eviction order if you do not move out

Your eviction notice must tell you the reason, called a ground for eviction. The amount of notice you should get depends on the ground.

You do not have to move out by the date on your eviction notice. You have the right to stay in your home until the tribunal process is finished. You can ask the tribunal to stop or delay the eviction.

Check our advice on your eviction rights.

It’s illegal for a landlord to evict you without following the correct process. Check our advice on dealing with illegal eviction.

If you want to move out

You must give your landlord at least 28 days’ notice in writing.

Add 2 days to the notice period to allow time for your landlord to receive your letter or email.

Use our letter template to end your tenancy correctly.

Check our advice on ending your tenancy.

Moving out when you have a joint tenancy

If everyone on the tenancy wants to leave, you must all give notice in writing.

If only one joint tenant wants to leave, they can ask the landlord to sign their part of the tenancy over to the remaining tenants or a new tenant.

If you leave without ending your tenancy correctly, you could still be charged rent.

Check our advice on your rights in a joint tenancy.

If your landlord changes

Your tenancy continues with the same terms if:

• your landlord sells your home while you’re a tenant

• your landlord dies and someone else inherits the property

Your new landlord cannot make you sign a new tenancy agreement. If they want to increase the rent or evict you, they must follow the correct process.

Your responsibilities

Your tenancy agreement explains your responsibilities. These include:

• paying your rent on time

• taking care of the property and keeping it clean

• reporting any repair problems and allowing access for repairs

• telling your landlord if you’ll be away from home for more than 14 days

• not causing a nuisance to your neighbours

• asking permission to sublet, redecorate, or keep pets

If you break any of the terms of your tenancy agreement, your landlord could try to evict you.