Rent (Scotland) Act 1984
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | 1984 c. 58 |
| Year | 1984 |
Rent (Scotland) Act 1984
1984 CHAPTER 58
An Act to consolidate in relation to Scotland certain enactments relating to rents and tenants' rights and connected matters.
[31st October 1984]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Part I
Preliminary
1 Protected tenancies.
(1) A tenancy under which a dwelling-house (which may be a house or part of a house) is let as a separate dwelling is a protected tenancy for the purposes of this Act unless—
(a ) the rateable value of the dwelling-house on the appropriate day exceeded or, as the case may be, exceeds 200, or in the case of a dwelling-house comprising or forming part of lands and heritages for which a rateable value is or was first shown on the valuation roll on or after 1st April 1978, 600; or
(b ) the tenancy is one with respect to which section 2 below otherwise provides; or
(c ) by virtue of section 4 or 5 below, the tenancy is for the time being precluded from being a protected tenancy by reason of the body or entity in whom the landlord's interest is vested; or
(d ) by virtue of section 6 below, the tenancy has at all times since it was granted been precluded from being a protected tenancy;
and any reference to a protected tenant shall be construed accordingly.
(2) In relation to dwelling-houses comprising or forming part of lands and heritages for which a rateable value is or was first shown on the valuation roll on or after 1st April 1978, the Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament increase the said sum of 600 in subsection (1) above, and he may make different provision for different classes of case.
(3) For the purposes of this Act, any land or premises let together with a dwelling-house shall, unless it consists of agricultural land exceeding two acres in extent, be treated as part of the dwelling-house.
(4) If any question arises in any proceedings whether a dwelling-house is within the limit of rateable value in subsection (1)(a ) above, it shall be deemed to be within that limit unless the contrary is shown.
2 Tenancies excepted from definition of ‘protected tenancy.’
(1) A tenancy is not a protected tenancy if—
(a ) under the tenancy either no rent is payable or the rent payable is less than two-thirds of the rateable value which is or was the rateable value of the dwelling-house on the appropriate day; or
(b ) under the tenancy the dwelling-house is bona fide let at a rent which includes payments in respect of board or attendance; or
(c ) the tenancy is granted to a person who is pursuing or intends to pursue a course of study provided by a specified educational institution and is so granted either by that institution or by another specified institution or body of persons; or
(d ) the purpose of the tenancy is to confer on the tenant the right to occupy the dwelling-house for a holiday; or
(e ) subject to section 1(3) above, the dwelling-house which is subject to the tenancy is let together with land other than the site of the dwelling-house.
(2) Paragraph (a ) of subsection (1) above shall not apply to a converted tenancy after the conversion.
(3) In the following provisions of this Act, a tenancy falling within paragraph (a ) of subsection (1) above is referred to as a ‘tenancy at a low rent’.
(4) For the purposes of paragraph (b ) of subsection (1) above, a dwelling-house shall not be taken to be bona fide let at a rent which includes payments in respect of attendance unless the amount of rent which is fairly attributable to attendance, having regard to the value of the attendance to the tenant, forms a substantial part of the whole rent.
(5) In paragraph (c ) of subsection (1) above ‘specified’ means specified, or of a class specified, for the purposes of that paragraph by regulations made by the Secretary of State by statutory instrument; and a statutory instrument containing any such regulations shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
3 Statutory tenants and tenancies.
(1) Subject to sections 4 and 5 below—
(a ) after the termination of a protected tenancy of a dwelling-house the person who, immediately before that termination, was the protected tenant of the dwelling-house shall, so long as he retains possession of the dwelling-house without being entitled to do so under a contractual tenancy, be the statutory tenant of it; and
(b ) the provisions of Schedule 1 to this Act shall have effect for determining what person (if any) is the statutory tenant of a dwelling-house at any time after the death of a person who, immediately before his death, was either a protected tenant of the dwelling-house or the statutory tenant of it by virtue of paragraph (a ) above;
and a dwelling-house is referred to as subject to a statutory tenancy when there is a statutory tenant of it.
(2) A person who becomes a statutory tenant of a dwelling-house as mentioned in paragraph (a ) of subsection (1) above is, in this Act, referred to as a statutory tenant by virtue of his previous protected tenancy, and a person who becomes a statutory tenant as mentioned in paragraph (b ) of that subsection is, in this Act, referred to as a statutory tenant by succession.
4 No protected or statutory tenancy where landlord'sinterest belongs to Crown
(1) Subject to subsection (3) below, a tenancy shall not be a protected tenancy at any time when the interest of the landlord under that tenancy belongs to Her Majesty in right of the Crown or to a Government department, or is held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a Government department.
(2) A person shall not at any time be a statutory tenant of a dwelling-house if the interest of his immediate landlord, at that time, belongs or is held as mentioned in subsection (1) above.
(3) An interest belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown shall not prevent a tenancy from being a protected tenancy or a person from being a statutory tenant if the interest is under the management of the Crown Estate Commissioners.
5 No protected or statutory tenancy where landlord'sinterest belongs to local authority, etc.
(1) A tenancy shall not be a protected tenancy at any time when the interest of the landlord under that tenancy belongs to any of the bodies or entities specified in subsection (2) below, nor shall a person at any time be a statutory tenant of a dwelling-house if the interest of his immediate landlord belongs at that time to any of those bodies or entities.
(2) The bodies and entities referred to in subsection (1) above are—
(a ) a regional, islands or district council, or a joint board or joint committee as respectively defined by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 , or the common good of an islands or district council or any trust under the control of a regional, islands or district council;
(b ) a development corporation established by an order made, or having effect as if made, under the New Towns (Scotland) Act 1968 ;
(c ) the Housing Corporation;
(d ) the Scottish Special Housing Association, or any housing trust which was in existence on 13th November 1953 or any authorised society within the meaning of the Housing Act 1914 ; and
(e ) an urban development corporation within the meaning of Part XVI of the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980 .
(3) In subsection (2)(d ) above, ‘housing trust’ means a corporation or body of persons which is required by the terms of its constituent instrument to devote the whole of its funds, including any surplus which may arise from its operations, to the provision of houses and to other purposes incidental thereto.
(4) A tenancy shall not be a protected tenancy at any time when the interest of the landlord under that tenancy belongs to a housing association, nor shall a person at any time be a statutory tenant of a dwelling-house if the interest of his immediate landlord belongs at that time to a housing association; and in this section ‘housing association’ has the same meaning as in section 208(1) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1966 except that, on and after 1st April 1975, it does not extend to a housing association which is not registered under section 13 of the Housing Act 1974 unless the provisions of section 18(1)(b ) or (c ) of the said Act of 1974 apply to that association.
(5) A tenancy shall not be a protected tenancy at any time when the interest of the landlord under the tenancy belongs to a housing co-operative, as defined in section 5 of the Housing Rents and Subsidies (Scotland) Act 1975 (agreements for exercise by housing co-operatives of local authority housing functions) and the dwelling-house is comprised in an agreement to which that section applies or in a similar agreement between the co-operative and the Scottish Special Housing Association.
(6) Where—
(a ) a tenancy is not a protected tenancy...
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