Coronavirus (Extension and Expiry) (Scotland) Bill
To help manage the COVID-19 pandemic, the Scottish Parliament passed two Bills in 2020. These became the Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 and the Coronavirus (No.2) (Scotland) Act 2020. We previously blogged about the impact each of these Acts would have on Scottish Residential Tenancies. On 18th June 2021, the Scottish Parliament introduced a new Bill: The Coronavirus (Extension […]
Eviction Ban Extension
We recently sent an update to confirm that evictions were being banned until 22 January 2021 – unless your Decree was granted on ground 2 and/or 7 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, as amended. This is where Decree was for Antisocial Behaviour (ASB) and/or where there was a conviction. It has now been announced that the existing ban will […]
Eviction Bans and Notice Periods: Public Sector Tenancies
The Coronavirus (Scotland) Act 2020 (“the 2020 Act”) contains emergency powers relating to coronavirus and health protection in Scotland. In exercising these powers the Scottish Government have introduced rules which have afforded additional protections to tenants by increasing the notice periods required before eviction action can start and banning the enforcement of eviction orders in […]
New SIC Report on the RSL Sector’s First Year in FOI
In November 2019 no one could have predicted what a difficult year 2020 would prove to be. However, a new report published by the Scottish Information Commissioner (SIC) highlights that RSLs are coping well with their new FOI obligations despite the challenges raised by COVID-19. The Report contains a number of key figures, namely: These trends broadly […]
From LIBOR to SONIA – The Pace Quickens
In an earlier blog we set out the basics of how the transition from LIBOR to SONIA would be effected. The matter has become more pressing as since October 2020 Banks have been providing detailed drafting to document the proposed transition and it was announced on 5 March 2021 that LIBOR as currently calculated would no longer be available […]
Upper Tribunal- Significant Decision
The practice of serving Notices to Quit by sheriff officers has recently been considered by the Upper Tribunal (UT). In a decision which will be of interest to private landlords and letting agents in Scotland the UT held it is competent for a sheriff officer to serve a notice to quit. In 2019, Mr Henderson […]
Ground 2 Eviction – Significant Decision
The Sheriff Appeal Court has just issued a decision which will be of significance to RSLs throughout Scotland. It concerns the operation of the “streamlined” eviction process in terms of ground 2 in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 designed to be used when tenants are convicted of criminal offences committed in or near the rented […]
SIC Decision on RSL’s handling of FOI request
The Scottish Information Commissioner (SIC) has recently published one of the first decision notices on an RSL’s handling of a FOI request. Whilst the decision notice (which can be viewed here) does not answer some of the bigger questions the sector has about their new FOI duties it does act as a reminder of some key […]
Ban on Evictions in Scotland
The Scottish Government announced that between 11 December 2020 and 22 January 2021, there is to be a full ban on evictions being carried out in Scotland. The ban will last for a period of six weeks and will apply to all evictions (except in cases of anti-social behaviour relating to Ground 2, Ground 7 or Ground […]
Letterhead Requirements for Companies and Charities
What are the letterhead requirements for companies and charities? Could you as an individual and/or the company/charity face possible prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000 with further fines of £100 per day being imposed? Under the Companies Act 2006, a company registered with Companies House must include their company’s registered name (as it appears […]
