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| Investing in Modernisation - An Agenda for Scotland's Housing |
| ANNEX TO CHAPTER 3 |
| Summary of Main Differences Between Secure and Assured Tenancies in Scotland1 |
Secure Tenancies |
Assured
Tenancies |
| Security of Tenure Tenant cannot be evicted without a Court Order. |
Tenant cannot be evicted without a Court Order. Slightly different procedures for serving notice and gaining possession. |
| Grounds for Possession There are 16 grounds for possession, but none on which the Sheriff must order possession. |
There are 17 grounds for possession, of which eight are mandatory (that is the Sheriff must grant an order for possession if the ground is proven). |
| Right of Succession Surviving spouse (or person living as husband or wife of the tenant) may succeed to tenancy on death of tenant. Another member of the family who has lived with the tenant may also succeed. |
More limited. The surviving spouse (or person living as husband or wife of the tenant) can succeed. |
| Right to Buy Secure tenants have RTB with discount. |
Public sector tenants who have transferred under stock transfers have preserved RTB. |
| Rent Fixed by landlord after four weeks notice or, for housing association tenants, by the Rent Officer (every three years). Restrictions on rents for sub-tenants and in relation to tenant improvements. |
Set by the housing association. Special procedure for increase in rents of statutory assured tenants applies in some cases. |
| Repairs Tenant has right to get certain repairs done at council's expense and to get compensation for council's failure to do these repairs. |
Equivalent voluntary scheme operated by some housing associations, but no legal right. |
| Improvements Tenant can carry out work with the consent of the landlord, which may not be unreasonably withheld. Some improvements may qualify for compensation at the end of the tenancy. |
Only if agreed between the landlord and tenant and set out in the tenancy agreement. |
| Consultation and Participation Only legal right is the right to be consulted over proposals to transfer. |
No rights. |
| Right to Manage Tenants have the right to seek to manage. |
No similar rights. |
| Information Tenants have a right to a written tenancy agreement and to see the rules governing allocation of housing. Local authority tenants also have the right to information on housing management performance. |
Tenants have a right to a written tenancy agreement and to see the rules governing allocation of housing. |
| Assigning, Sub-Letting, Lodgers Secure tenancy can be assigned or sub-let with the consent of the landlord (which may not be unreasonably withheld). Similarly lodgers can be taken in with the permission of the landlord. |
Landlord's permission required for any of these actions. |
| Complaints Housing Association Ombudsman and Local Government Ombudsman are operational. |
Housing Association Ombudsman. |
| 1 Information derived from CIoH Discussion Paper One for All _ A Single Tenancy for Social Housing (1998). |
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