From 1 April 2009, all landlords who raise proceedings in a court of law to recover possession of their property from their tenants have by law to inform their local authority. This also applies to creditors who raise notices or proceedings to eject owners who are in default with their mortgages.
Therefore if you are the landlord of a property which is within the Highland area and you raise proceedings to recover possession of the property or if you are a creditor and issue certain notices relating to a mortgage on a property which is located within the Highland area, you have a duty to inform the Highland Council.
Please note that this does not apply to cases where a Short Assured Tenancy ends routinely without recourse to legal action.
The aim of placing this duty on landlords and creditors is to alert the local authority to households who may be at risk of becoming homeless.
Local authorities have statutory duties to people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness and early notice of potential homelessness means that they may be able to respond on an individual basis. This might include the early provision of advice and information to tenants facing eviction or owners facing ejection. It may also include discussion of rights and responsibilities or referral to Independent Advice Agencies or Solicitors.
The Council has drawn up a guidance note which is available under "Current Documents". You can also get draft guidance which has been published by the Scottish Government on their website - look under "External Links".
The guidance makes it clear that Section 11 in itself is not intended to be a barrier to eviction or ejection and it should not prolong any dispute between landlord and tenant or creditor and owner. However, notification of the commencement of eviction or ejection proceedings to the local authority means the Council may be able to help resolve the dispute to the satisfaction of all parties.
To notify the Council, please complete the appropriate on-line form which you can find under related information or else print off the pdf version , complete it and post it to:
The Highland Council, Housing and Property Services, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness IV3 5NX