Private Landlord Responsibilities
Information about the responsibilities of a private landlord
Your Responsibilities
It can be difficult to understand all of your rights and responsibilities as a Private Landlord. The Scottish Government has produced a useful Summary of a private landlord's responsibilities when letting a property (opens new window). We have also created a Private Landlord Property Repairs Checklist [14KB] that can be printed and used as an aid to help you maintain your property. More information on your requirements are listed below.
Landlord Registration
Anyone planning to let out homes privately must be register before beginning letting. To find out more about how to register, see Private Landlord Registration. Your registration number must be displayed at all times when advertising and on your tenancy agreement.
Insurance
You need adequate buildings and third party liability insurance cover.
Energy Performance Certificate
You are required to have a valid Energy Performance Certificate for the property. This must be displayed in the property at all times.
Repairing Standard
Your property must meet the Repairing Standards. More information can be found on the Private Rented Housing Panel (opens new window) web pages or the Private Rented Services page. We have also created a Private Landlord Property Repairs Checklist [14KB] that can be printed and used as an aid to help you maintain your property.
Smoke Alarms and Carbon Monoxide Alarms
In order to meet current building standards, your property must have smoke alarms and a carbon monoxide alarm. The Private Landlord Registration guide [233KB] explains the law and how to ensure you have the correct alarms for detecting and warning of fires. More information can be found on the Private Rented Housing Panel (opens new window) web pages.
Electrical Installation Condition Report
Your property must be electrically safe. New legislation states that an Electrical Installation Condition Report must now be provided to all private tenants. This must be displayed in the property at all times.
Gas Safety (if required)
All private and social landlords are required to arrange an annual gas safety check of appliances (including boilers) by a GasSafe (opens new window) registered engineer. (Regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 (SI 1998/2451)). This must be displayed in the property at all times.
If the safety check is carried out no more than two months before the due date it can be treated as having been carried out on the due date. (Gas Safety (Installation and Use) (Amendment) Regulations 2018 (SI 2018/139)). This makes it easier for landlords to schedule the annual safety check and allows it to be carried out up to two months early without incurring extra costs. For more information see Guidance on Gas Safety for Landlords from the HSE (opens new window).
Risk Assessment Legionnaires Disease
Landlords have responsibilities to manage Legionella risks in rented homes. Health and Safety Executive Myth Busting - Legionella testing in rented homes (opens new window) helps put things in context. It includes links to the appropriate guidance.
Tenancy Agreements and Notices
From 1 December 2017, any new tenancy will be a private residential tenancy under the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 (opens new window), with a few limited exceptions. To help landlords ensure that tenancy agreements are legal, the Scottish Government has published:
- Private residential tenancy: information for landlords (opens new window);
- Private residential tenancy: model agreement (opens new window); and
- Online Tenancy Agreement Creation Tool (opens new window)
To make sure that the documents landlords use are always up to date, we would urge that any documents are downloaded from there each time they are needed. This will prevent any legislative updates being missed.
