Home Owners and Private Renting
Information and advice for home owners, private tenants and private landlords.
This page gives information on the rights and responsibilities of a private landlord.
Information for Tenants of privately rented accommodation.
West Lothian's Private Rented Team
The law on fire alarms changed on 1 February 2022. This means that all Scottish homes now need to have interlinked alarms.
The LIFT Open Market Shared Equity scheme, funded by the Scottish Government which provides low to moderate income people with up to 40% toward the purchase price of a property on the open market.
The Scheme of Assistance (the Scheme) sets out what advice and support the council provides for adaptations to support people with disabilities in their homes. Homeowners,including landlords, are responsible for maintaining and improving their homes. The council provides some advice and assistance to owners to help them with their responsibility.
Some homes and gardens can look a mess. It is the responsibility of owners (and tenants, where rented out) to keep homes and gardens looking presentable.
A long term empty home is any privately owned home which has been empty for 6 months or more.
Homes that are not properly maintained are not pleasant to live in, may be unhealthy and will only get worse with time. The longer maintenance is ignored, the more time consuming and expensive it is to sort out. Homeowners have responsibility for maintaining their homes, whether they live in them or rent them out.
All buildings need to be maintained to keep them performing as they should, keep them safe and to avoid problems getting worse over time. Different standards apply depending on the type of tenure.
