Fewer Evictions, More Appeals?

Defended Tribunal applications inevitably lead to delays in the process for landlords in terms of recovery. This is in addition to the enforcement of eviction delays due to the eviction moratorium. One could not be criticised for suggesting that the balance of fairness now appears to be heavily weighted in favour of the tenant both …

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Wrongful Termination Orders in Private Residential Tenancies

One of the new concepts that the private rented sector in Scotland got with the introduction of the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 (2016 Act) was that of Wrongful Termination Orders (WTO). The ability for tenants to seek a WTO is intended to police the misuse of grounds for possession by landlords by allowing …

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Reasonableness of Eviction

What is the test? The recent Upper Tribunal decision in Boyle v Ford 2023 UT 04 serves as a reminder to the proper approach to the question of reasonableness in eviction cases. The case concerned a landlord who sought to evict a tenant from a property, relying on the landlord’s intention to sell. The eviction …

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Repeal of Ground 8 under the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988

Ground 8, the mandatory rent arrears ground, was the most common ground for eviction under the assured tenancy regime. Courts, and latterly the Tribunal, had no discretion but to grant an eviction order provided that both – at the date of service of the AT6 and at the date the case first called, the tenant …

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Eviction Grounds and Reasonableness

Until the emergency provisions of the Coronavirus legislation, the private rented sector in Scotland (PRS) rarely had to contend with determining whether it was reasonable to evict a tenant. The traditional approach was, because of the implicit uncertainty in relying on discretionary grounds for possession, to avoid them“like the plague”. The reason for this was …

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Responding to Rent Arrears

What is the scale of the issue? Rent arrears are far from a new phenomenon, however, the financial difficulties imposed on many tenants by recent factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis, have placed additional emphasis on this issue that can cause distress for tenants and landlords alike. A report …

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