Private residential tenancy statutory terms: supporting notes

The Repairing Standard Etc & Other Information

1. The Repairing Standard

The landlord must ensure that the property is in the condition, and has the facilities, set out in the Repairing Standard.

If the property is not in that condition, or does not have any of those facilities, the tenant or the local council can apply to the Tribunal to tell the landlord to do what is needed.

The Repairing Standard is the minimum level of repair a property must achieve to be used as privately rented accommodation in Scotland. It means:

• The property must meet the Tolerable Standard (in common with all other houses in Scotland). The Tolerable Standard includes requirements for the property to: be structural stable and free from rising or penetrating damp, have satisfactory ventilation, adequate supply of wholesome water, an interlinked system of fire and smoke alarms and adequate carbon monoxide alarms.
• The property must be wind and water tight and in all other respects fit for people to live in. For example, there should not be any gaps between window or door frames and walls or any missing roof slates or tiles, which result in wind or rain getting into the property.
• The structure and exterior (including drains, gutters and external pipes) must be in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order. For example, walls must be in a reasonable condition, as must roofs so as to avoid water leaking through the roof into the property.
• Installations for water supply, gas and electricity and for sanitation, heating and heating water must be in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order.
• Pipes, tanks, boilers, meters and cables, toilets, radiators and other heaters - must all be in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order.
• Any fixtures, fittings and appliances that the landlord provides under the tenancy must be in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order. Appliances include, for example, kitchen and laundry equipment such as cookers, microwave ovens, fridges and freezers, washing machines, tumble dryers, kettles, toasters and the like.
• Any furnishings (such as chairs, settees and beds) that the landlord provides under the tenancy must be capable of being used safely for the purpose for which they are designed. One thing that this will mean is that they meet fire retardant standards.
• The Let Property must have satisfactory provision for, and safe access to a food storage area and a food preparation space.
• Common parts pertaining to the house can be safely accessed and used.
• Where a house is in a tenement, common doors are secure and fitted with satisfactory emergency exit locks.
• The property must have a way (a system of interlinked smoke alarms wired to the mains electricity supply or tamper proof long-life lithium battery alarms) of detecting fires and for giving warning in the event of a fire or suspected fire. (The Scottish Government guidance on this is found at: Satisfactory fire and carbon monoxide detection: tolerable standard guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot))
• The property must have a way to warn if carbon monoxide is present in a concentration that is dangerous for people. (The Scottish Government guidance on this is found at: Satisfactory fire and carbon monoxide detection: tolerable standard guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot))

Before the tenancy begins, the landlord must check whether the property meets the Repairing Standard. If it does not, the landlord must notify the tenant of any work that needs to be done to make the property meet the Repairing Standard - and the landlord must then get that work done (at the landlord's cost) within a reasonable time.

The landlord must also make sure the property meets the Repairing Standard throughout the tenancy - except that the landlord does not have to repair any damage that was caused by the tenant (which goes beyond normal wear and tear).

If the tenant tells the landlord about a defect, then the landlord must fix it within a reasonable time. If the landlord causes any damage when they are carrying out repairs, the landlord must also repair that damage.

If the tenant thinks the landlord has failed to make sure the property meets the Repairing Standard (which includes the Tolerable Standard), then the tenant should first contact the landlord. If the landlord does not sort the problem out, then the tenant can apply to the Tribunal. Where a tenant feels that they are vulnerable, they can contact their local authority who have powers to apply to the tribunal on their behalf.

The Tribunal might do one of three things:

• It might reject the application; or
• It might agree with the tenant and order the landlord to carry out repairs; or
• It might suggest that the dispute could be resolved by both the tenant and the landlord, perhaps with the help of mediation - which is a third person meeting with the landlord and tenant to try to find a way of sorting things out.

If the landlord is ordered to carry out repairs, the order will give them a reasonable amount of time to carry out the repairs. If they do not do so, the Tribunal can issue a rent relief order. The rent relief order is an order reducing the rent the tenant has to pay by an amount not exceeding 90%. The tenant should not withhold rent without a rent relief order being issued by the Tribunal.

2. Structure & Exterior

The landlord must keep the structure of the building in good repair. This includes:

• drains, gutters and outside pipes;
• roof;
• outside walls, doors, windowsills, window catches, sash cords, and window frames;
• inside walls, floors, ceilings, doors, door frames, inside stair cases and landings;
• chimneys, chimney stacks, and flues;
• pathways, steps or other means of access;
• plaster work;
• boundary walls and fences.

Sometimes the landlord might be responsible, along with owners of homes nearby, to keep certain common parts of a building or walls between two properties in good repair. Examples of this might be where the property is a flat in a tenement building. In that case the common parts would usually include items such as the roof, common doors, the staircase giving access to all flats and the back court area. The landlord would need to carry out repairs to these things - but this would be shared with the owners of all of the other flats within the tenement.

3. Gas Safety

If the property has a gas supply, then the landlord must arrange for a gas safety check to be carried out, by a gas safe registered engineer, on all gas pipes and appliances (for example fire, hob, oven and boiler) in the property which have been supplied by the landlord. This must be done every year.

After each yearly check, the engineer signs a Landlord Gas Safety Record, which notes the results of the checks and confirms whether each gas appliance meets the safety standard it needs to.

The landlord must make sure that the property is safe. If the tenant has any concerns about the safety of any gas item in the property, or knows that any gas appliances or pipework are not working properly - for example, there’s a smell of gas or the pilot light in a boiler does not stay lit - then the tenant must tell the landlord.

The landlord must give the tenant a copy of each yearly Landlord Gas Safety Record which is issued by the gas safe registered engineer. If the landlord does not do this, the tenant can contact the Health & Safety Executive for advice or can get gas safety advice on the Gas Safe Register website. Also, the tenant could contact the local council, which could require the landlord to provide the Record to the tenant or face losing their registration as a landlord with the local council.

If a gas engineer decides that any gas appliance is unsafe - which is often called "condemned" - then the tenant must not use that appliance.

Carbon monoxide detectors go off (so the alarm sounds) if carbon monoxide is present in a property. Carbon monoxide is a dangerous gas which can cause illness or even death. Unlike the gas which powers the appliances in a property (like the boiler and hob), carbon monoxide does not have any smell - the only way to know that carbon monoxide is in a property is by having a carbon monoxide detector.

Because of this, the landlord must have carbon monoxide detectors installed in the property if there are appliances which use carbon based fuel - which would be gas, wood, coal, other solid fuel or oil.

A carbon monoxide detector must be ceiling or wall mounted (see guidance for specifications):

• in each room or inter-connected space such as a garage, that has a fixed carbon based fuel powered appliance (except one solely used for cooking) - so, for example, every room or inter-connected space that has a fire, heater or a boiler; and
• if the flue from any carbon based fuel powered appliance passes through any bedroom or living room, then in each of those rooms too.

The Scottish Government guidance about carbon monoxide alarms is at: Satisfactory fire and carbon monoxide detection: tolerable standard guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Tenants must be advised of the following action to be taken should there be a smell of gas, or suspicion of a gas escape, or a carbon monoxide leak:

• Open all doors and windows;
• Shut off the gas supply at the meter control valve;
• If gas continues to escape the National Gas Emergency Service should be called on 0800 111 999 – it operates 24 hours a day; and
• Any investigations or repairs must be carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

4. Electrical Safety

The landlord must ensure that all electric fittings and items in the property are in a reasonable state of repair and in proper and safe working order.

As part of this duty to keep electric fittings and items in a reasonable state of repair, the landlord must arrange for an electrical safety inspection to be carried out at least every 5 years. That inspection must be carried out by a qualified person who then issues two reports:

• an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) on any fixed installations; and
• in-service inspection and testing of electrical equipment report (also known as Portable Appliance Testing, or PAT) on electrical appliances - and the inspector should also stick a label on each tested item which sets out the inspection date and when the next test is due, and each label should be signed by the inspector.

The landlord must give the tenant copies of both reports.

If the tester says that testing should be more frequent than once every five years (for example, once every 3 years), then the landlord must follow this advice.

The EICR must cover:

• The electrical installations for the supply of electricity.
• Electrical fittings and accessories, including –
  • The consumer unit(s)
  • Light fittings
  • Light switches
  • Socket-outlets
  • Any visible wiring e.g. surface wiring installed in PVC mini trunking, and
  • Any electrical equipment which may have been installed in an accessible loft space with supplies to renewable energy sources,
• Visual inspection of fixed electrical equipment, including –
  • Fixed electrical heating equipment e.g. storage heaters or convector panel heaters,
  • Electric showers and over/under-sink water heaters,
  • Boilers and other heat producing equipment, and
  • Hard-wired smoke, heat and carbon monoxide detectors

The in-service inspection and testing of electrical equipment (otherwise known as PAT) covers all remaining electrical appliances provided by the landlord, including appliances like kettles, lamps, vacuum cleaners and white goods such as fridges or washing machines.

The Scottish Government statutory guidance for private landlords provides further information.

5. Smoke Detectors and heat alarms

The smoke and heat alarms in the property must be powered by the electrical mains or be tamper proof long-life lithium battery alarms.

The following must be provided:

• one smoke alarm installed in the room most frequently used for general daytime living purposes (normally the living room/lounge);
• one smoke alarm in every circulation space on each storey, such as hallways and landings;
• one heat alarm installed in every kitchen;
• all smoke and heat alarms to be ceiling mounted; and
• all smoke and heat alarms to be interlinked (either hardwired or by radio communication)

The landlord also needs to make sure that the property is fit and safe for people to live in. Therefore, the landlord must make sure that there are no fire hazards in the property, like loose wiring.

If the tenant thinks there are fire risks in the property, then the tenant should contact the landlord. If the landlord refuses to fit smoke or heat alarms or to fix any fire risks, the tenant can contact the Tribunal or contact the local authority's Environmental Health Department.

Guidance on fire detection in all properties can be found at: Satisfactory fire and carbon monoxide detection: tolerable standard guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Additionally, landlords should advise tenants to test that the following devices operate when their integral test button is pressed at time intervals as specified:

• Residual Current Devices (six monthly check)
• Smoke or heat detectors (weekly check)
• Carbon monoxide detectors (monthly check)

6. Installations

Anything which was in the property (or is part of the property) at the start of the lease is something provided by the landlord. These items must be kept, by the landlord, in proper working order - and repaired when needed.

This duty on the landlord does not apply to things brought into the property by the tenant.

The installations in the Let Property may include the following:

• basins, sinks, baths, toilets, and showers;
• gas or electric fires and central heating systems;
• electrical wiring;
• door entry systems;
• cookers;
• extractor fans;
• carbon monoxide detectors;
• smoke alarms;
• heat detectors;
• fire extinguishers and blankets (but only if the property is a House in Multiple Occupation).

7. Energy Performance Certificate

Before the tenancy starts, the landlord must give the tenant a copy of the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for the property if one is needed. If the tenancy is for renting a room with shared access to other rooms such as a kitchen, bathroom and living room, an EPC is not needed.

It is a requirement under law that the EPC must be ‘affixed’ to the building - it will often be located in the boiler or meter cupboard.

The EPC must not be more than 10 years old. The EPC has to be made available to a tenant free of charge.

The EPC tells the tenant about the energy efficiency of the property. If a property is energy efficient, the fuel bills for the person living in the home (for heating and lighting) will be lower than if the property is not energy efficient.

The EPC ratings can be A, B, C, D, E, F or G.

An "A" rating on an EPC is the best rating - this would be given to a home which was very energy efficient and should have low bills for fuel and lighting.

A "G" rating on an EPC is the worst - so the least energy efficient, which may have higher bills for fuel and lighting.

8. Furnishings

The landlord must make sure that:

• all upholstered furniture (like settees, arm chairs and dining chairs with soft seat coverings) and
• all mattresses

which are in the property at the start of the tenancy meet the standards set out in the Furniture & Furnishings (Fire Safety) Regulations 1988 as amended so should have labels attached to them which show that they meet these Regulations.

Tenants should report worn or broken furnishings and coverings to the landlord as these can make furniture unsafe and present a fire risk.

9. Defective Fixtures & Fittings

The landlord must keep all fixtures and fittings in the property at the start of the tenancy in a good state of repair. This applies, for example, to fitted kitchen units and fitted wardrobes, toilets, sinks, baths, showers and fitted kitchen appliances such as hobs and ovens.

The tenant should tell the landlord if any fixtures and fittings need to be repaired. The landlord must get the repairs done within a reasonable time.

10. Food storage and preparation:

Landlords must ensure that the tenant can safely access food storage and food preparation space. This includes appropriate space to store food, as well as space and an appropriate power source for the installation of a fridge and freezer or a fridge/freezer. The food preparation space must be appropriate and set out in a way that allows it to be used safely.

11. Access to common parts:

Landlords must ensure that any common parts pertaining to the house can be safely accessed and used. In relation to the obstructions and cleanliness of common areas, landlords are entitled to expect tenants to store possessions such as bicycles and pushchairs appropriately and dispose of rubbish properly, but if necessary items may have to be removed

12. Tenements and common doors:

Where a house is in a tenement and has common doors (or is designed to have common doors), the Landlord must ensure that these doors are secure and fitted with satisfactory emergency exit locks.

13. Repair Timetable

Often, a landlord will only find out that something in the property is not working or needs to be repaired when the tenant tells their landlord about it.

The tenant must tell the landlord as soon as they can about any repair being needed or if there is something urgent. The landlord then has to carry out any repairs as soon as they reasonably can.

The tenant must give the landlord reasonable access to get the repair work done.

What is a reasonable period to carry out repairs will vary depending on the type of repair which is needed and how dangerous or unsafe it might be to leave that item not repaired.

If the landlord does not carry out repairs within a reasonable period, the tenant can ask the Tribunal to order the landlord to carry out these repairs. Also, for some major repairs or those that cause a safety issue, the tenant might be able to get the local council to order the landlord to do the work or the local council might do the work and ask the landlord to pay the costs. The local council also has powers to report the landlord to the Tribunal for their failure to meet the Repairing Standard.

14. Payment for Repairs

If damage was caused by the fault or negligence of

• the tenant or someone living with the tenant at the property or
• someone visiting,

then the tenant is responsible.

This means that the tenant must pay for the damage to be fixed. The tenant should discuss with the landlord having the repair carried out. The landlord might prefer to arrange to get the damage fixed and send a bill for the costs to the tenant.

Damage would be caused by fault if it was done on purpose.

Damage would be caused by negligence if it was not done on purpose but the person who caused the damage did not take normal care to avoid the damage. For example, a person is negligent if he leaves a skylight window open all day when rain is forecast and this results in the carpet and furnishings in the room below being damaged by the rain. Another example might be a person causes a burn mark to appear on a kitchen table by placing a pot, straight from a hot burner on the cooker hob, onto the table top.

15. Information

The tenant will be asked by the landlord to meet the costs of any repairs and the landlord should supply them with copies of the receipts for such costs.

The landlord must give the tenant copies of:

• the Landlord's Gas Safety Record (see note above on Gas Safety);
• the Electrical Safety Inspection Report and the in-service inspection and testing of electrical equipment report (otherwise known as the Portable Appliance Testing Report) (see note above on Electrical Safety); and
• the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) for the property (see note above on Energy Performance Certificate).

These must be given to the tenant before, or at the start of, the tenancy.

Legionella

The landlord must take all reasonable steps to reduce the risk of the presence of legionella bacteria.

Legionnaires’ disease is caused by legionella bacteria and is a kind of pneumonia (or lung infection).

The legionella bacteria which causes the disease is sometimes present in cold or hot water systems in buildings. It is therefore important to try to keep the risk as low as possible by taking certain steps.

The landlord must carry out a risk assessment.

Simple control measures can help to minimise the risk of exposure to Legionella. These include:

• flushing out a water system before the start of a tenancy - so flushing all toilets and running water through all cold and hot water taps and showers for a period of time;
• avoiding debris getting into the system - for example by making sure that any cold water tanks have a tight fitting lid; and
• making sure any pipework which is no longer used is removed.

If a property is served directly by mains cold water, then there is only a low risk of legionella bacteria in the cold water, as it flows from a moving supply, not from stored water.

If a property is served by hot water:

• from a tank which is regularly heated to over 60 degrees centigrade; or
• from an instant hot water boiler - which does not store heated water, but heats it as it is used,

then, again, there is only a low risk of legionella bacteria in the hot water system. To keep the risk of legionella bacteria being present in the property low, tenants:

• should not alter the controls on any hot water system in a way which would increase the legionella risk (for example lowering the regular heat temperature to below 60 degrees);
• should regularly clean shower heads - as these result in a spray of tiny drops of water which might be breathed into the lungs; and
• Inform the landlord if the hot water is not heating properly or if there are any other problems with the system.

Respect for Others

The tenant and anyone living at the property must not be involved in antisocial behaviour at the property.

“Antisocial behaviour” means behaving in a way:

• which causes, or is likely to cause, alarm, upset, nuisance or annoyance; or
• which is harassment.

‘At the property’ includes to other people in the property, any neighbour, any visitor, the landlord or those acting for the landlord or any tradesman.

Examples of antisocial behaviour are:

• making too much noise - including from televisions, CD players, digital media players, radios and musical instruments, DIY or power tools;
• not controlling pets (including allowing them to bark too much) or allowing pets to foul or cause damage to other people’s property or common areas of the property such as the garden;
• allowing visitors to the property to be too noisy;
• vandalising or damaging the property or any part of the common areas or neighbourhood;
• leaving rubbish other than in the bins provided or leaving rubbish out to be picked up on a day when it is not due to be picked up;
• allowing the tenant and/or any other person (including children) living in or using the property to cause a nuisance or annoyance to other people;
• harassing any other tenant or occupier, visitors, neighbours, family members of the landlord or employees of the landlord or agent, or any other person or persons in the house, or neighbourhood, for whatever reason. This includes behaviour due to that person’s race, colour or ethnic origin, nationality, gender, sexuality, disability, age, religion or other belief, or other status;
• using or carrying weapons;
• using, selling, growing, making or supplying unlawful drugs or selling alcohol;
• storing or bringing onto the property any type of unlicensed firearm or firearm ammunition including any replica or decommissioned firearms;
• using the property, or allowing it to be used, for illegal or immoral purposes - an example of an illegal purpose might be for carrying on a business for which local council consents have not been obtained; and
• threatening or assaulting any other tenant or occupier, visitors, neighbours, family members of the landlord or employees of the landlord or agent, or any other person or persons in the house, or neighbourhood, for whatever reason.

The above list of examples does not include every sort of antisocial behaviour. There could be other actions, failures to act or words spoken (or shouted) which would amount to antisocial behaviour.

The landlord can take action against the tenant if there is a breach of the antisocial behaviour clause in the tenancy.

Landlords have a responsibility to try to stop antisocial behaviour taking place. So if the tenant is involved in antisocial behaviour the landlord must do something to try to stop it. This could include:

• investigating complaints about the tenant's behaviour;
• writing to the tenant to explain that the behaviour is causing concern and asking the tenant to stop the behaviour;
• giving advice on how to reduce noise to an acceptable level;
• asking the local council to apply for an Antisocial Behaviour Order or ASBO against the tenant;
• going to court to get an order of the court (called an "interdict") to stop the tenant from behaving in a certain way; and
• warning the tenant that they may be removed from the property if they do not stop the antisocial behaviour.

If the landlord's attempts to deal with antisocial behaviour do not work, the landlord can ask the local council to step in to assist. If the antisocial behaviour continues, the landlord may begin the process to evict the tenant.

If a landlord does not try to stop the antisocial behaviour, the local council can serve an Antisocial Behaviour Notice on the landlord ordering the landlord to take action to deal with the problem, for example to evict the tenant, or at least warn the tenant that they may be evicted if they continue to behave in that way.

If the landlord does not do what the local council's Antisocial Behaviour Notice says, then the local council can ask the Court to stop rent payments to the landlord or to give the local council control of the property.

If a tenant is affected by other people's antisocial behaviour, the tenant should keep a written record of what happens, each time it happens, with dates and times.

Depending on how bad things are, the tenant should contact:

• the nearest Citizens' Advice Bureau or the Antisocial Behaviour team at the local authority - both of which can give the tenant advice on the tenant's rights and what might be the best action for the tenant to take (which could be to contact the police); or
• the local authority’s antisocial behaviour team; or
• the police - who can take action to stop certain behaviours.

Equality Requirements

Under the Equality Act 2010, the landlord is not allowed to show bias against a tenant, or against a person who wants to become a tenant of a property, on the basis of:

• that person's disability, sex or gender reassignment; or
• that person's pregnancy or the fact that the person has a baby or babies or child or children; or
• that person's race, religion or belief or sexual orientation.

If a tenant thinks they have been unfairly treated by a landlord because of a protected characteristic, then the tenant can:

• complain directly to the landlord; or
• in some cases to make a claim through the Tribunal, if for example an Agreement contains a discriminatory clause that the Tribunal could remove or if that discrimination led to an unfair rent or unlawful eviction; or
• contact the Equality Advisory Support Service for help and advice.

Data Protection

The landlord must comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Laws to ensure that the tenant's personal data is held securely and only disclosed where there is a lawful basis for doing so.

“Data Protection Laws” means any law, statute, subordinate legislation, regulation, order, mandatory guidance or code of practice, judgment of a relevant court of law, or directives or requirements of any regulatory body which relates to the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of Personal Data to which a Party is subject including the Data Protection Act 2018 and any statutory modification or re-enactment thereof and the GDPR.

“GDPR” means the General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC.

Under data protection law, "personal data" is protected.

Landlords need to comply with the following requirements regarding personal data: Personal data shall be:-

(a) processed lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner in relation to individuals (‘lawfulness, fairness and transparency’);

(b) collected for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes; further processing for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes shall not be considered to be incompatible with the initial purposes (‘purpose limitation’);

(c) adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary in relation to the purposes for which they are processed (‘data minimisation’);

(d) accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date; every reasonable step must be taken to ensure that personal data that are inaccurate, having regard to the purposes for which they are processed, are erased or rectified without delay (‘accuracy’);

(e) kept in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed; personal data may be stored for longer periods insofar as the personal data will be processed solely for archiving purposes in the public interest, scientific or historical research purposes or statistical purposes subject to implementation of the appropriate technical and organisational measures required by the GDPR in order to safeguard the rights and freedoms of individuals (‘storage limitation’);

(f) processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures (‘integrity and confidentiality’).

Landlords might need to give tenants a privacy notice to tell them what can be done with data which they hold and how they might use it.

There are some situations where the landlord can disclose data about the tenant.

For example, they are allowed to give the tenant's details to the local council or utility companies if that is covered by a privacy notice issued by the landlord to the tenant.

Further guidance on data protection law in relation to tenancies can be found on the Information Commissioners Office website.

Tenant's belongings to be removed

The tenant must remove the tenant's belongings when the tenancy ends. This will include everything that the tenant has brought into the property.

If the tenant leaves items behind, and the landlord then has to spend money removing them or storing them, then it is likely that the tenant will have to pay the costs of removal or storage.

The landlord should supply the tenant with copies of the receipts for such costs.