The Scottish Government has launched a new consultation over plans to give tenants more security of tenure.

The New Tenancy for the Private Sector consultation aims to give tenants a greater sense of security, and provides appropriate safeguards for landlords, lenders and investors.

Through the proposals landlords must offer a minimum tenancy of six months, and the Notice to Quit will be linked to how long the tenant has lived in the property.

The Scottish Government says that the proposals form part of its commitment to reform the private rented sector tenancy by enabling more effective regulation, applying tougher enforcement and attracting new investment.

The consultation is seeking views on proposals to:

• modernise the reasons a landlord can use to get back possession of their property;
• enable tenants to stay in their home at the end of their lease unless one of the new reasons above occur; and
• introduce longer notice periods for landlords and tenants.

It will also explore issues relating to rent levels.

“If tenants have more security in their tenure, they may feel more confident in asserting their rights and flagging any concerns about their rented property without fear of eviction,” explained Housing Minister Margaret Burgess. “In addition to this if tenants know they can only be asked to leave their home on certain specified grounds they will have a greater feeling of security.”

“But equally a new tenancy system provides an opportunity to improve the private rented sector for landlords,” she added. “We can tackle some of the long-standing issues they face, like problems around recovering the possession of their property and rent arrears. These changes could give landlords more reassurance in the system.”

The consultation will run from 6th October until 28th December 2014.

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