Short assured tenancy

As well as assured tenancies, the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988 also created short assured tenancies. Short assured tenancies operate similarly to assured tenancies, but offer far less security of tenure.

From 1st December 2017 no new short assured tenancies can be created. Tenants whose short assured assured tenancy started before this date will continue to be short assured tenants until such time as the tenancy is ended or if they agree in writing with their landlord to convert to a private residential tenancy.

At the end of the initial fixed period of a short assured tenancy, the landlord can recover possession through the tribunal procedure simply because they want their property back.  However they must follow the correct procedure to do this.

In addition to the requirements for the creation of an assured tenancy, there are specific procedural requirements for the creation of a short assured tenancy. In particular, the landlord has to serve an AT5 notice on the tenant before the creation of the lease, and the tenancy has to be for a minimum fixed period of six months. If these specific requirements are not fulfilled then the tenancy will not be a short assured tenancy but instead an assured tenancy.

The information on assured tenancies also applies to short assured tenancies, unless the information on short assured tenancies specifically states this is not the case.

For more detailed information on short assured tenancies, please see the section on short assured tenancies.