Tenants

As a tenant of a private landlord you have certain legal rights and responsibilities to ensure you keep your tenancy. These include:

• paying your rent on time
• keeping your home in good order
• not causing damage to any contents provided by your landlord
• not being a nuisance to your neighbours
• ensuring that no illegal activities take place in your home
• asking permission for things not stated in the contract, like keeping a pet
• answering any letters from your landlord
• giving proper notice if you want to leave

You are also entitled to:

• a written tenancy agreement detailing rental address, rent payable, length of tenancy
• know who your landlord is
• have repairs carried out - see the repairing standard for more information
• the peaceful occupation of the rented accommodation

The regulations for private rented tenancies change from 1 April 2024. As a tenant you will still be protected by the law. The Scottish Government have published information on the changes for tenants.

Private residential tenancy

The private residential tenancy came into force in December 2017. It replaces assured and short assured tenancy agreements for all new tenancies. See the Tenant Guide to the Private Residential Tenancy

The Scottish Government has developed a guide for tenants about the private residential tenancy:

What about my landlord's responsibilities?

Your landlord also has legal obligations which they must comply with. If you feel that your landlord is not meeting these legal obligations, you can contact the Housing Strategy team for advice.

Where can I get independent advice?

You can get free, independent and confidential advice from organisations like Shelter Scotland and Citizens Advice Scotland.

Find out more

For more information, contact the Housing Strategy team. If you are homeless or threatened with homelessness, contact our Homelessness Services team.

Condensation, dampness and mould

A build-up of moisture in the home can cause a range of problems and can potentially damage the fabric of the building if allowed to continue.

If you do have mould growing, it’s good to clean it off straight away to minimise any health risk, but you also need to fix the underlying damp problem to stop it coming back. If you don’t have any leaks or rising damp issues, then the problem is almost certainly condensation. There are several things you can do to help avoid problems in the future, to find out more information please read our guidance notes.