Short Scottish Secure Tenancies for antisocial behaviour and miscellaneous changes: statutory guidance for social landlords

6. Serving A Notice Giving A Short SST

New Tenants

6.1 Once landlords have decided to offer a short SST on any of the antisocial behaviour grounds, landlords must issue a notice to the prospective tenant(s) that sets out the grounds for giving a short SST and the term of the tenancy. The Short Scottish Secure Tenancies (Notice) Regulations 2018 set out the new notice form for offering a short SST from 1 May 2019. Where a notice offering a short SST is issued prior to 1 May 2019, The Short Scottish Secure Tenancies (Notices) Regulations 2002 continue to apply and the terms of the short SST will also be those that were in place at the time the notice was issued, even if the short SST itself is granted on or after 1 May 2019.

Existing Tenants

6.2 Where landlords have decided to convert an existing SST to a short SST they must issue a notice to the tenant advising them that their SST is being converted to a short SST because of antisocial behaviour. The 2001 Act does not prescribe the form of notice landlords should use to do this. Landlords will have already developed their own form for this purpose and will need to amend this form for conversion cases to include the new information at paragraph 6.3 below which is required by the 2014 Act^[24].

6.3 A notice converting an SST to a short SST as a result of antisocial behaviour from 1 May 2019 must now set out all of the following:

• that the SST to which it relates becomes a short SST by service of the notice;
• the name of the tenant or other person who is subject to an antisocial behaviour order; or
• in cases where no antisocial behaviour order applies:
  - the name of the tenant or other person who has behaved antisocially;
  - the actions of the tenant or other person which the landlord has taken into account; and
  - the landlord’s reasons for serving the notice.
• an explanation of the tenant’s right of appeal to the court if they are not satisfied with the landlord converting an SST to a short SST.

Appeals About Being Given a Short SST

6.4 Landlords will want to have clear and well-publicised internal review mechanisms in place for dealing with such cases. Tenants also have a right of appeal to the courts if they are not satisfied with the type of tenancy offered by the landlord^[25] or with the conversion of their existing SST to a short SST^[26].