Your legal responsibilities as a landlord are as follows:
Landlord registration
If you plan to rent residential property in Scotland, you must register as a landlord before advertising the property. Information on registration and scheme details are available on our Private landlord registration page.
Prescribed information checks
From September 2019, prescribed information checks became part of the Landlord Registration application.
All landlords must confirm they are aware of and that their properties meet the following:
Repairing Standard
Properties let in Scotland must meet the Repairing Standard.
Landlords must repair and maintain rental properties at the start and throughout the tenancy.
A tenant or a third party (Local Authority) who believes a house does not meet the standard can make an application to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing & Property Chamber) for a decision on whether a landlord has complied with this duty.
Tenancy Deposit Scheme
If you receive a deposit from your tenant, you must lodge it into one of the 3 approved schemes in Scotland within 30 working days. The 3 approved schemes are:
Please see Tenancy Deposit Schemes for further information.
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
Rental properties must have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) before being advertised.
Letting adverts
You must include:
- Landlord Registration Number – anyone advertising accommodation for rent must have submitted an application to the Landlord Register. You can advertise your property whilst your application is being considered – you should add "Registration Pending" in the advert. Once registered, all adverts must contain the registration number.
- Letting Agent Registration Number – all letting agents must be registered with the Letting Agent Register.
- Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) – you need to detail the EPC rating in all property adverts.
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