What is a Part VII contract?
A Part VII contract can only exist if it was created before 2 January 1989.
It can also exist only if it was created in one of two situations. Firstly, where one person grants to another person the right to occupy a dwelling house as a residence, in return for rent that includes payment for the use of furniture or for services, [ s.63 Rent (Scotland) Act 1984 as amended ] and secondly, where an occupier shares accommodation with a resident landlord. [ ss.6, 96 and 98(1) Rent (Scotland) Act 1984 ]
Use of services included in rent payments
Rent
Rent means the combination of payments made for services, use of furniture and use of the accommodation itself. [1]
Furniture
The mention of furniture in the definition of a Part VII contract can be misleading. If a tenancy qualifies in all other respects as a regulated tenancy, the provision of furniture only will not remove it from regulated tenancy status; so, not all furnished lets are automatically Part VII contracts.
Services
'Services' are defined as including "attendance, the provision of heating and lighting, the supply of hot water, and any other privilege or facility connected with the occupation of a dwelling house" [2] and may inlcude board [3].
Attendance
'Attendance' is the provision of personal services for example, cleaning and laundry [4].
Board
A contract for letting cannot be a regulated tenancy if board (food) is provided. Such a contract will be a Part VII contract, unless the board constitutes a substantial proportion of the whole rent. [5] (In that case the tenancy will only have the basic protection offered by common law - see the section on common law tenants and non-tenants for more information.)
Sharing accommodation with resident landlord
Where an occupier is excluded from the regulated tenancy regime because they share accommodation with a resident landlord, then provided the occupier has exclusive use of some part of the accommodation (this could be just one room), they will have a Part VII contract, [6] irrespective of whether the use of furniture or services is paid for.
To qualify as resident, the landlord must have been in continuous residence in the same building since the start of the tenancy. A landlord living in a separate self-contained flat within the same building as the tenant will still be classed as resident, unless the building is a purpose-built block of flats. [7] Long periods of absence will not prevent a landlord from being resident.
Last updated: 29 December 2014