The Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Act 2022 received royal assent this month and comes into effect on 1 October 2022.  On this date certain changes introduced to the private rented sector in response to the pandemic will become permanent.

What does this mean for Private Landlords?

Reasonableness

There will be no return to mandatory grounds for eviction.  The Tribunal will require to assess whether it is reasonable to grant the order in all eviction cases. 

The pre-action protocol

The pre-action requirements, will become permanent on 1 October 2022 with a new name “the pre-action protocol”.  This requires landlords who are seeking possession on the basis of rent arrears to comply with certain specified actions prior to pursuing eviction.  The Tribunal, in assessing the reasonableness of eviction in such cases, is required to consider the extent to which the landlord has complied with the pre-action protocol.  This protocol requires landlords to try to make payment arrangements with tenants, to signpost them to sources of financial and debt advice and to ascertain whether any other steps can be taken by a tenant to deal with arrears before eviction action commences.

Read more: Coronavirus (Scotland) Act the Impact on Residential Tenancies

The pre-action requirements are currently set out in the Rent Arrears Pre-Action Requirements (Coronavirus) (Scotland) Regulations 2020. These regulations will continue in force with the reference to pre-action requirements replaced with the term “pre-action protocol”.   Accordingly, it does not appear that a change to processes and procedures will be required where prepared in accordance with the 2020 Regulations.

If you would like more information or advice on these changes, please get in touch.