Council or housing association tenant rights

Once you accept the offer of a property, the council or housing association will give you a tenancy agreement to sign.

Signing a tenancy agreement

The tenancy agreement is called a Scottish secure tenancy. It’s a document that tells you your rights and responsibilities, including:

how much rent you’ll pay and when it’s due
applying for a joint tenancy
rules about repairs
rules about subletting, swapping your home or giving someone the tenancy
rules about who can inherit your home if you die
when you can be evicted from your home

There is no fixed term. Your tenancy continues indefinitely until either you end it, or you’re evicted.

You can see a sample Scottish secure tenancy agreement on gov.scot.

Signing a joint tenancy agreement

If you and another person sign the tenancy agreement, you’ll be joint tenants.

All joint tenants are equally responsible for the rent. This means if the other tenant cannot pay their rent, the council or housing association can ask you to pay.

Signing a short Scottish secure tenancy agreement

You can be offered a short Scottish secure tenancy in very specific circumstances, including if:

you or someone you live with has been evicted for antisocial behaviour in the last 3 years
you or someone you live with is subject to an antisocial behaviour order (ASBO)
you or someone you live with has repeatedly behaved antisocially
you’re homeless and living in temporary accommodation

The tenancy will have a fixed term of either 6 or 12 months.

If you have a short Scottish secure tenancy:

no one can inherit your tenancy if you die
there’s a different process if the council or housing association want to evict you at the end of your fixed term

Contacting the council or housing association

You’ll need to contact the council or housing association to do things like:

report repairs needing done
tell them if someone moves in or out of your home
get permission to sublet or make improvements to your home

Housing officers

The council or housing association will give you a housing officer.

They can help you manage your tenancy, including:

deal with any rent arrears
getting help paying rent if you cannot afford it
apply for a Council Tax reduction

Rent increases

Your rent can be increased once per year.

You may qualify for benefits if you cannot afford some or all your rent.

Getting a rent increase

You must get 4 weeks’ notice of an increase in your rent.

Before increasing your rent, you must be consulted by the council or housing association. If you were not consulted, you can make a complaint.

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