Your council tenancy

Changes to your tenancy due to the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014

Common questions about how this might affect you as a tenant

Do I have to sign a new tenancy agreement?

No. Your revised tenancy agreement includes all the changes made by the Act.

Which parts of my tenancy agreement have changed?

  • If you want to sublet all or part of your house to someone else
  • If you want to pass the tenancy on to someone else
  • If you want another person to be included with you as a joint tenant
  • Some of the rules around when certain people can take over a Scottish secure tenancy on the death of the tenant
  • The way in which a Scottish secure tenancy can be ended following a conviction for serious antisocial or criminal behaviour

What do these changes mean for me?

The most significant change is the importance of letting us know who is living in your household. This includes letting us know about anyone who has previously moved in with you who you have not already told us about. You should also tell us when anyone moves into or out of your home in the future.
This is important because any decision about subletting, assignation, joint tenancy or succession will be based on whether we have recorded you or the applicant as living in the property for a minimum of 12 months.  
A tenancy can now be ended due to a tenant, joint tenant or any person living in the property getting a conviction, due to immoral or illegal purposes, or any offence punishable by imprisonment which was committed in or near the house.

How can I update who is in my household?

What is an assignation and what are the changes?

This is a formal request to pass the tenancy to another person. There are changes from 1 November 2019:

  • You will have to have lived in your property for at least 12 months before applying for this. Also, the person you want to pass the house to must have lived at the property as their main home for at least 12 months before applying. We can only take the 12 month period into account if you have told us that the person you want to pass the property is part of your household
  • We can also refuse permission if the person would not get priority under our allocations policy or if the home would be under-occupied.
    •  

What is a sub-let and what are the changes?

This is when you want to let all or part of your house to someone else on a temporary basis. There are changes from 1 November 2019. 
You must have been the tenant of the house throughout the 12 months immediately before you apply for this.
Also, the person you want to sub-let the property to must have been living at the property during those 12 months and you must have told us about this.

What are the changes when applying for a joint tenancy?

When a single tenant wants to add another person to their tenancy they have to ask us for permission. The proposed joint tenant must have lived at the property as their main home for the 12 months before the application is submitted, and we should have been notified of them living there. This change starts 1 November 2019.

What is succession and what are the changes?

Succession is when a person is allowed to take over a Scottish secure tenancy on the death of the tenant.   The new act changes the rules for:

  • Unmarried partners- the house must have been the unmarried partners only home for at least 12 months before the tenant’s death for them to be able to take over the tenancy. You must have told us they were part of the household
  • Family members - the house must have been the family member’s only home for at least 12 months before the tenant’s death for them to qualify to take over the tenancy  
  • Carers:  The house must have been the carer’s only home for a minimum of 12 months before they qualify to take over the tenancy

What are the changes in how my tenancy can be ended?

Tenancies can be ended due to:

  • Court Order
  • Changing to a short Scottish secure tenancy
  • If an adapted property is not needed by the person living there, but is needed by someone else
 

What are the changes to how a tenancy can be ended by Court Order?

A tenancy can be ended if someone living in your home or visiting you is convicted of a serious offence in or near the house.  It means we can end the tenancy if behaviour has had a serious impact on neighbours or others in the community.  A serious offence is one that the offender could have been imprisoned for, whether or not they were sentenced to imprisonment. 
If we plan to end your tenancy in this way we would serve a notice on you to say we would take your home from you.  That would be done within 12 months of the conviction or, if it was appealed unsuccessfully, of when the appeal ended.
You have a right to challenge our decision to take court action to end the tenancy on these grounds.

What are the changes in ending the tenancy of a property that has been adapted?

Any social landlord can ask for a Court order to end the tenancy of an adapted property which is no longer being occupied by anyone who needs the adaptations. This only applies where the landlord needs the property for someone who does need the adaptations.  If this happened, we would give notice before applying to the sheriff and would offer suitable alternative accommodation. You would be able to ask the sheriff to consider whether the request was reasonable and to challenge the suitability of any alternative accommodation.

What are the changes in converting a tenancy to a short Scottish secure tenancy?

The changes mean you get fewer rights and less protection from eviction than a secure tenancy.  A short Scottish secure tenancy has a fixed duration, unless we agree to extend it or convert it back to a Scottish secure tenancy. 
The circumstances now include any situation where you or someone living with you has acted in an antisocial manner or harassed another person. This only applies to behaviour in or around your house in the 3 years before the notice is served.

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