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    Private residential tenancy and assignation

    Assignation is the legal process whereby one tenant passes the tenancy on to another person. Tenants wishing to assign a private residential tenancy must have their landlord’s consent.

    This content applies to Scotland

    Landlord's consent

    A private residential tenant cannot assign the tenancy unless the landlord gives written consent. [1]

    How to assign

    If there is a clause in the lease dealing with assignation then it should be checked to see if a particular procedure is to be followed. If the lease does not lay down a procedure or is silent, then the request to assign must be clear, and should be in writing. No assignation can take place unless the landlord agrees in writing.

    Unlike Scottish secure tenancies, there is no statutory provision that the landlord's refusal of consent shall be reasonable. If the tenant wants to assign the tenancy and the landlord refuses permission, then that is an end to the matter.

    Last updated: 12 August 2020

    Footnotes

    • [1]

      Schedule 2 para. 5 Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016