Eviction Advice

The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act - Changes from 1 April 2024

The temporary rent cap and evictions protections brought in by the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act will no longer apply from 1 April.

In terms of the eviction moratorium coming to an end, the 6-month delay in enforcing most eviction grounds will no longer be in force and evictions are subject to the post provisions requirements.

Rent Adjudication

To support the transition away from the emergency measures, the Scottish Government will introduce some important changes to the existing rent adjudication system.

From 1 April, tenants can ask for a proposed rent increase to be adjudicated by Rent Service Scotland (or the First-tier Tribunal, where applicable), where they think it is too high. Rent will be set with reference to the lowest of:

• the open market rent
• the rent requested by the landlord
• and a comparator based on the difference between the market rate and current rent.

A landlord can only increase rent once in a 12 month period and for a private residential tenancy must give a tenant at least 3 months' notice. The applicable notice period for an assured or short assured tenancy will depend on the tenancy type.

You can find more information on these changes on the Scottish Government - Cost of Living Rent and Eviction (opens new window) and Scottish Government - Continuing rent protection for private tenants (opens new window) pages.

What does rent adjudication mean

If a tenant is concerned about the level of a proposed rent increase, they can raise it with their landlord or agent and apply to a rent officer at Rent Service Scotland, or to the First-tier Tribunal if applicable, for a rent adjudication. 

The regulations would temporarily modify the rent adjudication process for 12 months so that on making a decision on adjudication, the rent officer would use a rent taper formula which can be summarised as below:

• If the gap between the market rent and the current rent is 6% or less, then the landlord can increase the rent by the proposed amount, as long as this is not more than the market level.
• If the gap between the market rent and the current rent is more than 6%, the landlord can increase the rent by 6% plus an additional 0.33% for each percent that the gap between the current rent and market rent exceeds 6%, as per the formula set out in the Rent Adjudication (Temporary Modifications) (Scotland) Regulations 2024. However, the total rent increase cannot exceed 12% of the current rent.
• Both cases are also subject to the requirement that RSS and the FTT cannot set a higher rent than that requested by the landlord.

The proposed regulations are temporary and are intended to bridge the gap in anticipation of the Housing Bill which should become legislation in early 2025 which will provide long term rent control measures for private tenancies.

Section 11 Notice

Section 11 of the Homelessness Etc (Scotland) Act 2003 requires landlords and creditors to notify the relevant Local Authority when they raise proceedings for possession or serve certain notices regarding the standard security level. The purpose of this requirement is to ensure that Local Authorities are alerted to households at risk of homelessness due to eviction or repossession at an early stage. You can notify West Lothian Council by completing this form [36KB]  and sending it to Section11notices@westlothian.gov.uk (opens new window).

Landlords

Landlords are required to notify the relevant local authority when they raise proceedings for procession of a dwelling house. It is important to note that the duty does not apply at the point where an AT6, Section 33 or Notice to Leave is served. The duty only applies at the point when a landlord raises proceedings in the First Tier Tribunal.