SCHEDULE
The First-tier Tribunal for Scotland Housing and Property Chamber Rules of Procedure 2017
PART 1
Rules common to all proceedings before the First-tier Tribunal
1. Application and interpretation
(1) Part 1 of the Rules applies to all proceedings before the First-tier Tribunal.
(2) In these Rules—
“the 1984 Act” means the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984;
“the 1988 Act” means the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988;
“the 2004 Act” means the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004;
“the 2006 Act” means the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006;
“the 2011 Act” means the Property Factors (Scotland) Act 2011;
“the 2011 Regulations” means the Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Regulations 2011;
“the 2014 Act” means the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014;
“the 2016 Act” means the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016;
“adjourn” means, in relation to a hearing, a decision by the First-tier Tribunal to suspend after it has begun and continue on a later date;
“appeal” means the exercise of a right of appeal under section 46 of the Tribunals Act;
“application” means an application made to the First-tier Tribunal and includes an assured tenancy reference and a regulated tenancy reference and “applicant” is to be construed accordingly;
“assured tenancy reference to the First-tier Tribunal” means—
(a) a reference by a landlord or a tenant under section 17(3) of the 1988 Act of a notice which has been served under section 17(2) of that Act (notice proposing terms of a statutory assured tenancy and, if appropriate, an adjustment of the rent to take account of the proposed terms);
(b) a reference by a tenant under section 24(3) of the 1988 Act of a notice which has been served under section 24(1) of that Act (notice proposing an increase in rent under an assured tenancy);
(c) a reference by a tenant under section 25A(4)(a) of the 1988 Act of a notice which has been served on the tenant under section 25A(2) of that Act (notice proposing a new rent to take account of any sums payable by the tenant to the landlord in respect of council tax); or
(d) an application by a tenant under section 34(1) of the 1988 Act (application for a determination of the rent which the landlord might reasonably be expected to obtain under a short assured tenancy);
“case management discussion” includes any resumed discussion;
“chairing member” means the chairing member of the First-tier Tribunal and is the legal member where a hearing is heard by two or more members;
“Chamber President” means Chamber President of the First-tier Tribunal;
“electronic communication” has the meaning given to it by section 15(1) of the Electronic Communications Act 200016and “electronic signature” has the same meaning as in section 7 of that Act17;
“First-tier Tribunal” means the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland Housing and Property Chamber;
“hearing” includes an oral hearing, any hearing conducted in whole or in part by video link, telephone or other means of instantaneous communication and any resumed hearing;
“interested party” means a person other than the applicant or any other party on whom the First-tier Tribunal has ordered the proceedings before it to be served;
“lay representative” means a representative of a party who is not a legal representative;
“party” includes, unless the context requires otherwise, any homeowner, property factor, tenant, former tenant, landlord, former landlord, third party applicant, former residential occupier, lessor, lessee, letting agent and any other person permitted by the First-tier Tribunal to be a party to proceedings;
“postpone” means, in relation to a hearing, a decision by the First-tier Tribunal to defer to a date later than that originally set by the First-tier Tribunal;
“proceedings” means the proceedings in relation to the making of a decision under these Rules;
“regulated tenancy reference” means a matter which is referred by a rent officer to the First-tier Tribunal under paragraph 7 or 12 of schedule 5 of the 1984 Act or an application for a certificate of fair rent which is referred by a rent officer to the First-tier Tribunal under paragraph 2 or 6 of schedule 6 of the 1984 Act or a Part VII contract;
“representative” means a lay representative or a legal representative of a party;
“review” means the internal review provided for by section 43(1) of the Tribunals Act;
“the Tribunals Act” means the Tribunals (Scotland) Act 2014; and
“writing” includes electronic communication which has been recorded and is consequently capable of being reproduced; and this applies also to “written”.
2. The overriding objective
(1) The overriding objective of the First-tier Tribunal is to deal with the proceedings justly.
(2) Dealing with the proceedings justly includes—
(a)
(a) dealing with the proceedings in a manner which is proportionate to the complexity of the issues and the resources of the parties;
(b)
(b) seeking informality and flexibility in proceedings;
(c)
(c) ensuring, so far as practicable, that the parties are on equal footing procedurally and are able to participate fully in the proceedings, including assisting any party in the presentation of the party’s case without advocating the course they should take;
(d)
(d) using the special expertise of the First-tier Tribunal effectively; and
(e)
(e) avoiding delay, so far as compatible with the proper consideration of the issues.
3. Effect of the overriding objective
(1) The Chamber President and the First-tier Tribunal must seek to give effect to the overriding objective when—
(a)
(a) exercising any power under these Rules; and
(b)
(b) interpreting any rule.
(2) In particular the Chamber President and the First-tier Tribunal must manage the proceedings in accordance with the overriding objective.
(3) The parties must assist the Chamber President or the First-tier Tribunal to further the overriding objective.
4. Application
An application to the First-tier Tribunal must be in writing and may be made using a form obtained from the First-tier Tribunal.
5. Requirements for making an application
(1) An application is held to have been made on the date that it is lodged if, on that date, it is lodged in the manner as set out in rules 43, 47 to 50, 55, 59, 61, 65 to 70, 72, 75 to 91, 93 to 95, 98 to 101, 103 or 105 to 111, as appropriate.
(2) The Chamber President or another member of the First-tier Tribunal, under the delegated powers of the Chamber President, must determine whether an application has been lodged in the required manner by assessing whether all mandatory requirements for lodgement have been met.
(3) If it is determined that an application has not been lodged in the prescribed manner, the Chamber President or another member of the First-tier Tribunal, under the delegated powers of the Chamber President, may request further documents and the...
