Private Residential Tenancy Scotland 2026, Complete Landlord Guide to PRT, Registration, and Eviction Grounds

The Private Residential Tenancy, core features and how it differs from England

The PRT replaced both Short Assured Tenancies (equivalent of England's ASTs) and the longer Assured Tenancies in Scotland. Its core features distinguish it clearly from the English regime:

• Open-ended, no fixed term: All PRTs are open-ended from the outset, there is no fixed end date, no initial period, and no concept of a 'rolling' tenancy. Scotland implemented this in December 2017, the same reform England implemented in May 2026 via the RRA 2025. A PRT tenancy agreement must not specify an end date; any end date included is void
• Statutory written tenancy agreement: The Scottish Government has published a model PRT written tenancy agreement covering mandatory clauses. Landlords must provide tenants with a written tenancy agreement before or at the start of the tenancy. The mandatory clauses (set by the Private Residential Tenancies (Statutory Terms) (Scotland) Regulations 2017) include the parties, property, rent, notice provisions, and key rights and obligations. Additional clauses can be included provided they do not conflict with the statutory terms
• No Section 21, only 18 statutory grounds: There is no equivalent of Section 21 (or its reformed English successor under RRA 2025) in Scotland. Landlords can only recover possession by establishing one of the 18 statutory grounds in Schedule 3 to the PHT(S)A 2016. The grounds include: rent arrears for three or more consecutive months; the tenant no longer occupying the property as their home; the landlord intending to sell; the landlord or a family member intending to live in the property; refurbishment; breach of the tenancy agreement; anti-social behaviour; and regulatory grounds (landlord registration refused or revoked; HMO licence revoked; overcrowding statutory notice). All 18 grounds are discretionary since 1 October 2022, the tribunal may refuse possession even where the ground is made out if eviction would not be reasonable
• First-tier Tribunal (Housing and Property Chamber): Eviction applications under the PRT go to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber), not the Sheriff Court. The FTT process is designed to be more accessible and less adversarial than court proceedings. The FTT has specialist housing judges and members. Where a tenant has stopped occupying the property as their home, the landlord's route is a Notice to Leave citing Ground 10 (not occupying as only or main home) followed by an FTT eviction order, there is no separate 'Abandonment Order' under the PRT regime. Appeals from FTT decisions go to the Upper Tribunal for Scotland and then to the Court of Session
• Tenant notice period: A tenant wishing to leave a PRT must give 28 days' notice (one month). There is no minimum occupation period before a tenant can give notice. The tenant's notice does not need to specify any particular ground

Landlord notice periods and eviction grounds, Scotland's 18 grounds

Scottish landlords must serve a Notice to Leave on the tenant specifying one of the 18 Schedule 3 grounds before applying to the FTT for an eviction order. Notice periods vary by ground:

• 28-day notice cases (s.54(3)): 28 days' notice applies where the tenant has been entitled to occupy the property for 6 months or less, or where the only ground or grounds cited are Grounds 10 to 15: Ground 10 (tenant not occupying the property as their only or main home); Ground 11 (breach of a tenancy term other than rent); Ground 12 (rent arrears for three or more consecutive months); Ground 13 (relevant criminal conviction); Ground 14 (anti-social behaviour); Ground 15 (association with a person with a relevant conviction or who has engaged in anti-social behaviour). All grounds are discretionary: even where the ground is made out, the FTT grants an eviction order only if it is also reasonable to do so
• 84-day notice cases: 84 days' notice applies in every other case, in practice where the tenancy has lasted more than 6 months and the notice relies on any of: Ground 1 (landlord intends to sell); Ground 2 (property to be sold by the lender, mortgagee in possession); Ground 3 (landlord intends to refurbish); Ground 4 (landlord intends to live in the property); Ground 5 (a member of the landlord's family intends to live in the property); Ground 6 (landlord intends to use the property for a non-residential purpose); Ground 7 (property required for a religious purpose); Ground 8 (tenant no longer an employee); Ground 9 (tenant no longer needs supported accommodation); Ground 16 (landlord registration refused or revoked); Ground 17 (HMO licence revoked); Ground 18 (overcrowding statutory notice). These are also discretionary: for intention-based grounds the FTT scrutinises whether the stated intention is genuine and whether eviction is reasonable
• Notice to Leave, prescribed form: The Notice to Leave must be in the form prescribed by the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 (Prescribed Notices and Forms) Regulations 2017 (SSI 2017/297). It must identify the tenancy, the ground(s) relied on, and the date from which the landlord requires the property to be vacated. An incorrectly completed Notice to Leave is invalid, the FTT will reject the application
• FTT eviction order, enforcement: Where the FTT grants an eviction order, the order requires the tenant to vacate by a specified date. If the tenant does not vacate, the landlord must apply to the Sheriff Court for a warrant for ejection (not the FTT, enforcement is a court process). This two-stage process (FTT order → Sheriff Court warrant) is a distinctive feature of the Scottish eviction process

Scottish Landlord Registration, mandatory before letting

Scottish Landlord Registration has been mandatory for private landlords since the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004. It is separate from any English or Welsh registration requirements:

• Who must register: All private landlords who let residential property in Scotland must register with their local council via the Scottish Landlord Register (landlordregistrationscotland.gov.uk). This includes landlords of single properties, HMO operators, and landlords who use letting agents. There is no exemption for occasional or incidental lettings. A landlord must be registered before granting a PRT, letting without registration is a criminal offence
• Fit and proper person test: The registration application includes a fit and proper person test. Local councils can refuse registration or revoke a landlord's registration if the landlord (or a connected person) has been convicted of relevant offences (dishonesty; violence; sexual offences; drugs; discrimination) or has demonstrated unsatisfactory management conduct. A landlord who fails the fit and proper person test cannot legally let property in Scotland
• Registration renewal: Scottish Landlord Registration must be renewed every 3 years. Landlords must also update their registration when they acquire additional properties or when their personal circumstances change (change of agent; new conviction). Failure to renew is a criminal offence. The registration fee is payable per landlord (not per property) with an additional fee per property listed
• HMO licensing in Scotland: HMO licensing in Scotland is administered under Part 5 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 (in force since 31 August 2011). A property must hold an HMO licence from the local authority where it is occupied by 3 or more persons from 3 or more families as their only or main residence, this catches smaller sharer households than England's mandatory HMO licensing threshold (5 persons). The HMO licence and Scottish Landlord Registration are separate and must both be held

Rent review under the Scottish PRT

Scotland has a more interventionist rent review framework than England, with a statutory notice procedure and a rent officer referral route:

• Annual rent review limit: Under a PRT, rent can only be increased once in any 12-month period. The landlord must use the prescribed Rent-Increase Notice (Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 (Prescribed Notices and Forms) Regulations 2017, SSI 2017/297) giving at least 3 months' notice of the proposed increase. The tenant has 21 days from receiving the notice to refer the proposed increase to Rent Service Scotland for an open market rent determination
• Rent Pressure Zones abolished: The PHT(S)A 2016 originally allowed Scottish Ministers to designate Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) capping annual rent increases in a designated area. No RPZ was ever designated, and the RPZ provisions were abolished on 1 April 2026 by the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 (SSI 2026/115). The 2025 Act instead provides for a system of rent control areas, with key provisions being commenced in stages from 2026
• Rent Service Scotland: Rent Service Scotland is the Scottish Government body that adjudicates rent disputes under the PRT regime. Where a tenant challenges a proposed rent increase, Rent Service Scotland determines the open market rent for the property. The landlord cannot charge more than the Rent Service Scotland determination. Decisions of Rent Service Scotland can be appealed to the FTT
• Emergency rent cap (2022-2024), now expired: The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 introduced an emergency rent cap (initially 0%, later 3%) on PRT rent increases and a moratorium on evictions for certain grounds. These measures were temporary and have now expired. The standard PRT rent review rules (once per 12 months; 3 months notice; tenant referral right to Rent Service Scotland) apply in 2026

Frequently asked questions