Private residential tenancy statutory terms: supporting notes

Tenant ending the Agreement

The tenant can end the tenancy at any time by giving written notice to the landlord. That written notice must say that:

• the tenant wants to end the tenancy and
• the date on which the tenancy is to end.

(If it is a joint tenancy, all of the tenants must give the notice, not just one or some of them. See more detail later in this section.)

The tenant's notice must be given to the landlord 28 days (or 4 weeks) before the date on which the tenant wants the tenancy to end.

If the tenant gives the notice to the landlord by hand, then the notice would have to be given 28 days (or 4 weeks) before the date on which the tenant wants the tenancy to end.

If the tenant:

• posts the notice or
• sends the notice by email (if this has been agreed as the method of communication),

then the notice would have to be posted or emailed at least 30 days before the date on which the tenant wants the tenancy to end. This allows time for the notice to be received by the landlord.

If the tenant wants to end the tenancy sooner than 28 days, they may be able to agree this with their landlord. This landlord’s agreement must be in writing. If the landlord does not agree, the tenancy will continue for the minimum 28 day period even if they move out of the property sooner.

If the Agreement is a joint tenancy then all of the joint tenants have to agree to the ending of the Agreement. One joint tenant cannot end the Agreement on behalf of all tenants. Any notice from the tenant to end the tenancy would have to be signed by all of the joint tenants.

If a joint tenant wants to end the tenancy by sending notice to the landlord by email then this would be done either:

• by each of the people who are joint tenants sending their own email to the landlord, all saying that the tenancy is to end on the same date; or
• by each of the joint tenants signing a paper copy notice to the landlord and then one of those joint tenants scanning or taking a photo of that signed paper copy notice and attaching it to an email and emailing it to the landlord, on behalf of all of the joint tenants.

There are times, such as where there has been domestic violence, where a court can make an exclusion order or order the transfer of a joint tenancy into the name of one tenant, or a tenancy in the name of one partner into the name of the other. This is under the Matrimonial Homes (Family Protection) (Scotland) Act 1981 or the Civil Partnership Act 2004. If a tenant needs advice about this, they could contact one of the advice groups listed at the end of these Notes or Scottish Women's Aid.