Tenancy Rights

What is it?

There are two forms of tenancies used by housing associations and co-operatives and these are very different from those used in the private rented sector. Most tenants are on a Scottish Secure Tenancy (SST). On very rare occasions, tenants are on a Short Scottish Secure Tenancy (SSST).

Scottish Secure Tenancies      

The majority of housing association and co-operatives have Scottish Secure tenants.

If you are a Scottish Secure Tenant, you have the following rights:

• Your landlord must give you a written tenancy agreement and information about the complaints procedure
• If you ask your landlord about policies on setting rent, allocating houses, repairs and maintenance, your landlord must provide this information.
• Your landlord must consult you, and take account of your views, before making or changing housing management policies that are likely to affect you, such as repairs and maintenance, rent and service charges.
• You cannot be evicted from your home without a court order. The sheriff will only grant a court order if there are grounds for the eviction and if it is reasonable to do so.
• You or anyone you live with (who uses your home as their main home) can apply for joint tenancy.
• As the tenant you are able to take in a lodger, can sublet your tenancy or exchange your house
• As the tenant you are able to sign over your tenancy to another person who has lived in the house for longer than six months, using the house as their only home. (This is called assignation).

The above options can only be put in place with a letter of written consent from your landlord. Your landlord can only deny these options with good cause. As this is an important step, it is crucial to get advise.

• Your landlord must carry out small non urgent repairs within a set timescale. This is called the Right to Repair.
• If you have made improvements to your home, which your landlord gave permission to be carried out, then you have the right to receive compensation at the end of your tenancy
• It is possible for tenants to group together and form a tenant management co-operative. With the agreement of the landlord this co-operative can choose to manage their own homes.

Succession Tenancies

Passing the house onto someone after you die:

• If you die, your tenancy can be passed on to:
  • your husband or wife
  • the joint tenant
  • or your partner (including same sex partners) if they had been living in the property for longer than six months
• If none of these people chooses to succeed, the tenancy can be passed to another family member who was living with you when you died
• If none of the above chooses to succeed, then the tenancy can pass to a carer who lives with you in your home and gave up their only or main home to care for you or a member of your family
• The tenancy can succeed only twice.

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