Tenancy Setup & Management
The private residential tenancy (PRT): what Scottish landlords need to know
Every new private let in Scotland since 1 December 2017 is a private residential tenancy, created by the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016. It has no fixed term and no end date, it can only be ended by the tenant giving notice or by the landlord using one of 18 statutory grounds through the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland, its rent can rise no more than once in 12 months on three months' notice, and the landlord must give the tenant written terms and a set of explanatory notes by the end of the day the tenancy starts. This guide explains when a PRT applies, what the landlord must do to set one up, how rent and ending work, and how it differs from the short assured tenancy it replaced and from the assured periodic tenancy in England. It reflects the law as at 25 September 2026.
When a tenancy is a private residential tenancy
A tenancy is a PRT if the property is let to an individual as a separate dwelling, the tenant lives in it as their only or principal home, and no exclusion applies. Three consequences follow. A room in a shared flat with a shared kitchen and bathroom still counts as a separate dwelling, so shared houses and houses in multiple occupation are let on PRTs. A property that is not the tenant's only or principal home, such as a weekday base for someone whose family home is elsewhere, is a common law tenancy instead, and becomes a PRT on the day it becomes their main home. And the label on the agreement is irrelevant: a document headed "short assured tenancy" signed after 1 December 2017 is a PRT in law, with every PRT protection attached.
The exclusions are holiday lets, tenancies where the landlord lives in the property, purpose-built student accommodation and university halls, social housing, agricultural and crofting lets, and a handful of others in Schedule 1 to the Act. Before any PRT can be granted, the landlord must be on the Scottish Landlord Register.
What the landlord must give the tenant
By the end of the day the tenancy starts, the tenant must have a written copy of all its terms plus one of two Scottish Government documents: the Easy Read Notes, if you use the Government's model agreement, or the Private Residential Tenancy Statutory Terms Supporting Notes, if you use your own. Where an existing tenancy becomes a PRT, the deadline is 28 days from the change; where you later alter any term, the tenant must have the change in writing within 28 days. A tenant who does not receive the terms can apply to the tribunal for a drafting order and for a payment of up to three months' rent.
The Scottish Government's online model agreement is the practical route. It builds the agreement from a form, includes the mandatory terms the Act requires (parties, property, start date, rent and payment method, deposit, the rent increase procedure, and the tenant's statutory rights), lets you add discretionary clauses, and generates the notes automatically. Because a PRT is outside the Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 1995, landlord and tenant can agree it by typing their names into the document and exchanging it by email; a signed paper copy is equally valid. You must also give the tenant a privacy notice for the personal data you hold. If you also let in England, the tenancy agreement template we publish covers the assured periodic tenancy there; it is not usable for a Scottish let.
The deposit, if you take one, must be lodged with one of the three Scottish schemes within 30 working days, with the prescribed information sent to the tenant in the same window; the mechanics are in our guide to the tenancy deposit scheme. The registration number, the deposit scheme reference and the date the notes went out are the three details Scottish tenants most often ask landlords to produce later, which is why August's Scottish compliance journey records each of them against the tenancy; the documents themselves live in August's document store, attached to the property and tenant they belong to.
Private residential tenancy vs short assured tenancy
Private residential tenancy (from 1 Dec 2017) | Short assured tenancy (before 1 Dec 2017) | |
|---|---|---|
Term | Open-ended; no fixed term permitted | Fixed term of at least six months, then rolling |
Landlord ending | Notice to leave on one of 18 discretionary grounds; tribunal eviction order | Notice to quit plus section 33 notice at term end; no ground needed |
Notice periods | 28 days (tenant in property six months or less) or 84 days, except conduct grounds | At least two months for section 33 |
Tenant ending | 28 days' notice, or less by agreement | Per the agreement; typically at term end |
Rent increases | Once in 12 months, three months' notice, tenant can refer to a rent officer | Per the agreement; statutory referral to a rent assessment committee |
Written terms | Mandatory, with statutory notes, by day one | Recommended, not statutory in the same form |
Route for disputes | First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) | Sheriff court, later the tribunal |
Short assured tenancies that began before 1 December 2017 continue on their old terms until they end, and a landlord ending one still uses the notice to quit, section 33 notice and the tribunal. The Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 contains a power to convert remaining assured and short assured tenancies into PRTs; it has not been commenced and no date has been set. The English comparison is the assured shorthold tenancy, replaced from 1 May 2026 by the assured periodic tenancy, which is also open-ended but is ended through Section 8 grounds in the county court rather than a tribunal.
Rent under a private residential tenancy
Rent can be increased once in any 12 months by serving the prescribed rent increase notice with at least three months' notice. The tenant has 21 days to refer the notice to a rent officer, who sets the open market rent; for notices served on or after 1 April 2027 the window becomes 30 days and the rent officer cannot set a figure above the one the landlord proposed. Inside a rent control area, once any are designated after councils report on 31 May 2027, increases are capped at CPI plus one percentage point to a maximum of 6%. The full procedure, including the England comparison, is in our guide to when landlords can increase rent.
Ending a private residential tenancy
The tenant can end a PRT at any time by giving 28 days' written notice; the landlord cannot require more, although the two can agree less. The landlord can end it only by serving a notice to leave citing one or more of the 18 grounds in Schedule 3 to the 2016 Act, waiting out the notice period, and, if the tenant stays, applying to the tribunal for an eviction order. Every ground has been discretionary since 1 October 2022, so the tribunal decides whether eviction is reasonable even where the ground is proved. A landlord who recovers possession on a ground that turns out not to have been genuine faces a wrongful termination award, which rises to between three and 36 months' rent for tenancies ended on or after 6 October 2026. The grounds, the notice and the tribunal are covered in the eviction section of our Scottish landlord guide.
Access, subletting, joint tenants and pets
The mandatory terms require the landlord to give at least 48 hours' written notice before entering for repairs, inspections or valuations, except in an emergency, and the tenant may not sublet, assign or take in a lodger without the landlord's written consent. From 1 April 2027 a single joint tenant will be able to end a joint PRT without the agreement of the others, under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025; until then a joint tenancy ends only when all joint tenants give notice together. The same Act gives tenants a right to request a pet and to make changes to the property, with the landlord unable to refuse unreasonably, but those sections are commenced only for regulation-making and the rights are not yet in force.
When we mapped the Scottish compliance journey, the tenancy level ran to 18 tasks against 11 for England and Wales, and almost all of the difference is the PRT: the day-one notes, the 28-day rule on changed terms, the three-month rent notice, the 21-day referral window and the tribunal route each generate a dated task that an English checklist does not contain. Landlords who moved onto the Scottish journey in September had been carrying those dates in their heads, or not at all.
Frequently asked questions
Can a private residential tenancy have a fixed term?
No. Any clause fixing a term, or requiring the tenant to stay for a minimum period, has no effect. The tenant can leave on 28 days' notice from day one.
Is a short assured tenancy still valid in Scotland?
Only if it began before 1 December 2017. Anything signed since is a PRT regardless of its title. Existing short assured tenancies run until ended by the old procedure or converted under the 2025 Act, whenever that provision is commenced.
Does the landlord have to use the Scottish Government model agreement?
No, but any agreement must contain the mandatory statutory terms and must be accompanied by the Statutory Terms Supporting Notes. Using the model with the Easy Read Notes is the simplest way to satisfy both.
Does the Renters' Rights Act 2025 apply to a private residential tenancy?
No. It applies to England only. Scottish tenancies are governed by the 2016 Act as amended by the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025. Keeping the PRT paperwork, the notices and the dated tasks for a Scottish let in one place is what August is built for, and you can start for free.
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August Team
