What Are My Obligations as a Landlord in Scotland?

Who this guide is for

People who rent out a home in Scotland to a private tenant, or are about to, including landlords who use a letting agent. If the tenant moved in on or after 1 December 2017, the tenancy is normally a private residential tenancy, which has no end date. It covers:

• Registering with your council.
• The written tenancy terms and notes you must give.
• The repairing standard, including fire and carbon monoxide alarms, electrical inspections and gas safety.
• Deposits, rent increases, and how a tenancy can lawfully be ended.
• Renting a room in your own home.

What this guide does not cover

• Homes in England, Wales or Northern Ireland: the law is different there. See the England guide, the Wales guide or the Northern Ireland guide.
• Councils and housing associations as landlords: this guide is for private landlords only.
• Tenants asking about their own rights: use the eviction checker.
• Older tenancies that started before 1 December 2017 (short assured and assured tenancies): not covered. Ask your council or a solicitor.
• Letting agent registration, energy performance certificates, and the detailed licence rules for shared homes (HMOs): this guide does not cover them. Ask your council.
• The repair rules in detail (what must be fixed and how quickly): not covered beyond the summary below.
• Parts of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 that are not in force yet.
• Immigration questions: UK Work Rights does not give immigration guidance.
• Tax on rental income: ask HMRC. Holiday lets and business lettings: not covered.
• Taking a tenant to court for money they owe you: use the small claims checker.
• The amount of any fine, penalty or fee.

The questions that decide the answer

1. Where is the home? Scotland: this guide. England, Wales or Northern Ireland: see that nation's guide.
2. When did the tenant move in? On or after 1 December 2017: normally a private residential tenancy. Earlier: this guide does not cover it.
3. Does the tenant rent a room in your own home? Then you are a resident landlord and different rules apply.
4. How many people live there, and are they related? This decides whether you need an HMO licence.
5. What are you trying to do? Start a tenancy, carry out a check, raise the rent, or get the home back.

"Do I need to register?"

• Yes. You are registered when you are entered in the Scottish Landlord Register kept by the council for the area (Part 8 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004). Agents who manage homes for landlords must register too.
• Renting out a home without having applied to register is a criminal offence. The council can also serve a Rent Penalty Notice, which means you cannot charge your tenant rent.
• The council checks that each applicant is a "fit and proper" person. Show your registration number when you advertise and on the tenancy agreement.

"What must I give my tenant?"

• A written copy of all the terms of the tenancy, plus either the "Easy-read notes for the Scottish Government model tenancy agreement" (if you use the model agreement) or the "Private Residential Tenancy Statutory Terms Supporting Notes" (if you use a different agreement). These can be sent electronically.
• For a new tenant, you must give these before the end of the day the tenancy starts. If the terms change later, give a document explaining the new terms within 28 days of the change.
• If you do not, your tenant can give you 28 days' notice and then apply to the First-tier Tribunal, which can draw up the terms and make a payment order against you. If you provide everything before those 28 days end, the case does not go ahead.

"What safety checks do I need?"

• The home must meet the repairing standard and the tolerable standard. This includes being structurally stable and wind and watertight, with the gas, electricity, water and heating installations in a reasonable state of repair and working order. It also covers communal areas such as stairwells and closes.
• Fire alarms: interlinked fire detection, with at least 1 smoke alarm in the living room (the room used most during the day), 1 smoke alarm in every hall and landing, and a heat alarm in every kitchen.
• Carbon monoxide: a carbon monoxide detector in any room with a boiler, fire, heater or flue.
• Electrics: the electrical system must be safe and in reasonable condition, with a safety inspection by a qualified electrician at least once every 5 years. Appliances you supply must be safe.
• Gas: every gas appliance and flue you provide must be checked every 12 months by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Keep each record for 2 years. Give a copy to your tenant within 28 days of the check, or to a new tenant before they move in.
• If the home does not meet the repairing standard, your tenant can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber).

"Do I need an HMO licence?"

• If 3 or more people live in the home as their only or main home and they come from more than two families, you normally need an HMO licence from the council. Check with your council before you let. This guide does not cover the licence conditions.

"What do I do with the deposit?"

• Pay the deposit into an approved scheme within 30 working days of the tenancy starting.
• If you do not, your tenant can apply to the Tribunal, no later than 3 months after the tenancy ends, and it can order you to pay them up to 3 times the deposit.
• If you and your tenant disagree about deductions at the end of the tenancy, the scheme's free dispute service can decide.

"I want to raise the rent"

• You can raise the rent only once in 12 months, on the correct form, with at least 3 months' written notice. There is currently no cap on the increase.
• If your tenant does not accept it, they can apply to Rent Service Scotland within 21 days of getting the notice. A rent officer then sets the rent, which can be lower than, the same as, or higher than you asked for.
• A cap on increases after a referral applies only to rent increase notices given on or after 1 April 2027. No rent control area has been set up yet.

"I want my property back"

• Give your tenant a notice to leave, in writing, naming one or more of the 18 eviction grounds.
• The notice period is 28 days if the tenant had lived there for 6 months or less when they got the notice. It is also 28 days if the only grounds are about the tenant: not living there, breaking the tenancy, being in rent arrears for 3 or more months in a row, a relevant conviction, antisocial behaviour, or associating with someone who has a relevant conviction or has behaved antisocially. Otherwise it is 84 days. If grounds with different periods are used, the longer period applies.
• If you send the notice by post or email, add 2 days to the notice period.
• The rent arrears ground needs the tenant to have been in arrears for 3 or more months in a row when you apply to the Tribunal.
• If the tenant has not left when the notice ends, tell the council and apply to the First-tier Tribunal for an eviction order within 6 months after the notice period ends. For every ground, the Tribunal must decide both that the ground applies and that it is reasonable to evict.
• If you mislead a tenant into leaving, for example by saying you are selling and then letting the home again, the Tribunal can make a wrongful termination order of up to 6 months' rent.
• Under the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984 it is a criminal offence to make a tenant leave without following the legal process, or to harass them to make them leave.
• Your tenant can end the tenancy by giving at least 28 days' written notice.

"I rent a room in my own home"

• If you were living in the home when the occupier moved in, and they can go directly from your part of the home to theirs, you are a resident landlord. Give the notice in your agreement or reasonable notice, usually at least 28 days. You do not need a court order.

Deadlines

• Written terms and notes: before the end of the day the tenancy starts; updated terms within 28 days of a change.
• Deposit: into an approved scheme within 30 working days of the tenancy starting.
• Gas safety record: to your tenant within 28 days of the check; to a new tenant before they move in.
• Electrical inspection: at least once every 5 years.
• Rent increase: at least 3 months' written notice, and only once in 12 months.
• Tribunal application after a notice to leave: within 6 months after the notice period ends.
• This guide cannot work out the exact date a notice ends. Check it with an adviser.

Money figures

• This guide gives no money figures. It cannot tell you the amount of any fine, penalty, fee or award.

Traps

• "Section 21" and "Section 8" are England words. Scotland uses a notice to leave, and eviction orders come from the First-tier Tribunal, not the sheriff court, for private residential tenancies.
• There are no grounds where eviction is automatic: the Tribunal always decides whether it is reasonable.
• The Renters' Rights Act 2025 is England law. It does not apply in Scotland.
• A deposit deadline in Scotland is counted in working days.
• Employment tribunal time limits never apply to housing problems.