Tenants with a private residential tenancy

If you have a private residential tenancy, your landlord can only evict you if one of the 18 grounds for eviction applies.

Before your landlord can legally end your tenancy, they must give you a Notice to Leave. See what a Notice to Leave looks like on the gov.scot website.

This is a specific document that tells you which of the eviction grounds applies (the reason why your landlord is asking you to leave), and how long you have before you must move out of the property.

Your landlord may also attach supporting evidence which proves the reason they're asking you to leave is real.

Getting a Notice to Leave

Your landlord must give you the Notice to Leave by either:

• handing it to you
• sending it to you by recorded delivery post at the address of the Let Property
• emailing it to you at your current email address (if you have previously agreed that email is your preferred contact method)

If your landlord sends the Notice by recorded delivery post, or by email, the law says they must add an extra 2 days to allow for delivery.

How much notice you should get

How much notice your landlord needs to give you will depend on:

• how long you’ve lived in the let property
• why your landlord is asking you to leave

If you do not move out

If your landlord gives you a Notice to Leave and you do not move out as soon as the notice period ends, your landlord can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) for an eviction order. They can only do this within 6 months from the date in the notice they gave you.

The Tribunal will consider your landlord's case and decide whether the eviction ground exists. The grounds are split into 2 categories: mandatory grounds and discretionary grounds.

If your landlord is relying on a 'mandatory' eviction ground and the Tribunal is satisfied that the ground exists, they must evict you.

If your landlord is relying on a 'discretionary' eviction ground, the Tribunal it will consider whether it's reasonable to evict you, even if they’re satisfied that the ground exists

If you get a Tribunal summons, it's a good idea to get advice before you go. You can:

• get advice on going to the Tribunal from Shelter Scotland 
• contact a housing adviser at Shelter Scotland
• get advice from your local Citizens Advice Bureau

Applying for a wrongful termination order

If you've left the property and think you were misled into leaving, you can apply to the Tribunal for a wrongful termination order. The Tribunal may make a wrongful termination order if it decides that your landlord:

• misled the Tribunal into giving an eviction order it should not have
• misled you into leaving the property

An example of a possible wrongful termination would be where the landlord serves Notice to Leave to you on the ground that they want to sell the property, but then does not sell it and lets it out to another tenant instead.

If a wrongful termination order is issued, your landlord will be told to pay you a payment of no more than 6 months' rent.

Get advice on applying for a wrongful termination order on the Shelter Scotland website.