Private residential tenancy model agreement: easy read notes

Introduction

This document explains all of the different parts of your private residential tenancy agreement and aims to help you understand your tenancy agreement and rights. This must be provided to you where your landlord has written the terms of the tenancy in the form of the Model Private Residential Tenancy Agreement. Please note, this document is not presented in a fully accessible Easy Read format.

These Notes can help you understand your tenancy agreement if you have a private residential tenancy. They will also help you to know about your rights, and about the things you should be doing or not doing during your tenancy. These Notes also explain what to do if your landlord interferes with your rights, or if there is a problem between you and your landlord about your tenancy.

It’s the law that your landlord must give you all the written terms of your tenancy. The Scottish Government has produced a model tenancy agreement, which landlords can use to do this. It is called the ‘Model Private Residential Tenancy Agreement’. Your Landlord has used this model agreement so they must also give you a copy of these Notes.

These Notes explain all of the different parts of your tenancy agreement. Each part of your agreement is numbered, and you will be able to look for the same numbers in these Notes to find information about each part.

The things in bold on your tenancy agreement are things that laws say that you or your landlord must do, or must not do. The laws which say these things are listed at the end of these Notes. These Notes will help you understand these parts.

If what’s written isn’t in bold, your landlord did not have to include these tenancy terms in your agreement. The Scottish Government has given your landlord suggested wording for these terms, which your landlord can use if they want to. If your landlord has used the suggested text, these Notes will help you to understand that term. If your landlord has used their own wording for a term, or chosen not to include it at all, these Notes will not give information about that term. If you need more information about any terms which are not in these Notes, you may want to discuss them with your landlord, or contact the advice groups listed at the end of these Notes.

If you have a new tenancy, your landlord must give you all your tenancy terms in writing and a copy of these Notes before the end of the day on which the tenancy starts.

If you have a different type of tenancy which is changing into a private residential tenancy, your landlord has 28 days after the day when the tenancy becomes a private residential tenancy to give you your new tenancy terms and a copy of these Notes.

If your landlord does not give you all the written terms of your tenancy and/or these Notes when they are supposed to, you can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland Housing and Property Chamber ("the Tribunal"). The Tribunal may then give you a written tenancy and/or order your landlord to pay you up to six months' rent.

You must give your landlord 28 days’ notice if you are going to apply to the Tribunal for this reason, and you must apply using the 'Tenant's notification to a landlord of a referral to the First-tier Tribunal for failure to supply in writing all tenancy terms and/or any other specified information'. There are guidance notes available to help you to fill in this form if needed.

In these Easy Read Notes:

• The word "Agreement" means the tenancy agreement for the property which is being leased; and
• The "Tribunal" is the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland Housing and Property Chamber, which deals with disputes for tenancies of homes. The process should be easy and there is no cost to apply to the Tribunal. You can access the forms required to apply to the Tribunal on their website.
• The Form has guidance notes to help. You can also get help from the advice groups listed at the end of these Notes.
• The landlord might appoint an agent to manage the Agreement and if they do, then when these Notes refer to the landlord, in practice that might instead be a reference to the landlord's agent who will be acting on behalf of the landlord.