Search Legislation

Housing (Scotland) Act 2014

 Help about what version

What Version

 Help about advanced features

Advanced Features

Changes over time for: Cross Heading: General

 Help about opening options

Changes to legislation:

Housing (Scotland) Act 2014, Cross Heading: General is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 05 December 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations. Help about Changes to Legislation

Close

Changes to Legislation

Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Changes and effects are recorded by our editorial team in lists which can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Where those effects have yet to be applied to the text of the legislation by the editorial team they are also listed alongside the legislation in the affected provisions. Use the ‘more’ link to open the changes and effects relevant to the provision you are viewing.

View outstanding changes

Changes and effects yet to be applied to Part 4 Crossheading General:

  • specified provision(s) amendment to earlier commencing S.S.I. 2016/412, art. 3(1)(a) by S.S.I. 2017/330 art. 2

GeneralS

57Transfer of jurisdiction of actions involving letting agentsS

(1)The Scottish Ministers may by regulations provide that the functions and jurisdiction of the sheriff in relation to the actions between the following persons relating to the carrying out of letting agency work are transferred to the First-tier Tribunal—

(a)a tenant and a relevant letting agent,

(b)a landlord and a relevant letting agent.

(2)A relevant letting agent is—

(a)in relation to a tenant, a letting agent appointed by the landlord to carry out letting agency work in relation to the house occupied (or to be occupied) by the tenant,

(b)in relation to a landlord, a letting agent appointed by the landlord.

(3)References in this section to—

(a)a tenant include—

(i)a person who has entered into an agreement to let a house, and

(ii)a former tenant,

(b)a landlord include a former landlord.

Commencement Information

I1S. 57 in force at 31.1.2018 by S.S.I. 2016/412, art. 2, sch.

58Offences by bodies corporate etc.S

(1)Where—

(a)an offence under this Part has been committed by a body corporate or a Scottish partnership or other unincorporated association, and

(b)it is proved that the offence was committed with the consent or connivance of, or was attributable to any neglect on the part of—

(i)a relevant individual, or

(ii)an individual purporting to act in the capacity of a relevant individual,

the individual (as well as the body corporate, partnership or, as the case may be, other unincorporated association) commits the offence and is liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

(2)In subsection (1), “relevant individual” means—

(a)in relation to a body corporate—

(i)a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body,

(ii)where the affairs of the body are managed by its members, the members,

(b)in relation to a Scottish partnership, a partner,

(c)in relation to an unincorporated association other than a Scottish partnership, a person who is concerned in the management or control of the association.

Commencement Information

I2S. 58 in force at 31.1.2018 by S.S.I. 2016/412, art. 2, sch.

59Delegation of functions relating to the registerS

(1)The Scottish Ministers may, to such extent and subject to such conditions as they think appropriate, delegate any of their functions under this Part (other than a function relating to the making of an order or regulations) to such person as they may determine.

(2)A delegation under subsection (1) may be varied or revoked at any time.

Commencement Information

I3S. 59 in force at 31.1.2018 by S.S.I. 2016/412, art. 2, sch.

60Landlord registration where agent is a registered letting agentS

(1)In section 84(4) of the 2004 Act (registration), for paragraph (d) substitute—

(d)either—

(i)the person is a registered letting agent, or

(ii)in the case of a person who is not a registered letting agent, the person is a fit and proper person to act for the landlord such as is mentioned in subsection (3)(c) in relation to the lease or, as the case may be, arrangement..

(2)In section 88 of the 2004 Act (registered person: appointment of agent)—

(a)in subsection (2B)—

(i)the word “or” at the end of paragraph (a) is repealed, and

(ii)after subsection (b), insert ,or

(c)the person appointed is a registered letting agent.,

(b)for subsection (4), substitute—

(4)The condition is that either—

(a)the person is a registered letting agent, or

(b)in the case of a person who is not a registered letting agent, the person is a fit and proper person to act for the registered person in relation to a lease or occupancy arrangement such as is mentioned in subsection (1)(b).,

(c)in subsection (5), for “(4)” substitute “ (4)(b) ”.

(3)In section 89 of the 2004 Act (removal from the register)—

(a)in subsection (3)(b) for “(d)” substitute “ (d)(ii) ”,

(b)after subsection (3), insert—

(3A)Where—

(a)a person is registered by the local authority by virtue of section 84(4), and

(b)paragraph (d)(i) of that section no longer applies,

the authority may remove the person from the register..

(4)In section 90(1) of the 2004 Act (notification of removal from register: registered person), after “89(1)” insert “ , (3A) ”.

(5)In section 91(1) of the 2004 Act (notification of removal from register: other persons), after “89(1)” insert “ , (3A) ”.

(6)In section 92(1)(b) of the 2004 Act (appeal), after “89(1)” insert “ , (3A) ”.

(7)In section 92ZA(1)(a)(ii) of the 2004 Act (duty to note refusals and removals), after “89(1)” insert “ , (3A) ”.

(8)In section 92A(1)(b) of the 2004 Act (the Letting Code), after “person” where it first occurs insert “ (other than a registered letting agent) ”.

(9)In section 101 of the 2004 Act (interpretation of Part 8), after the definition of “registered” insert—

registered letting agent” has the meaning given by section 32(4) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 (asp 14),.

Commencement Information

I4S. 60 in force at 31.1.2018 by S.S.I. 2016/412, art. 2, sch.

61Meaning of letting agency workS

(1)For the purposes of this Part, “letting agency work” means things done by a person in the course of that person's business in response to relevant instructions which are—

(a)carried out with a view to a landlord who is a relevant person entering into, or seeking to enter into a lease or occupancy arrangement by virtue of which an unconnected person may use the landlord's house as a dwelling, or

(b)for the purpose of managing a house (including in particular collecting rent, inspecting the house and making arrangements for the repair, maintenance, improvement or insurance of the house) which is, or is to be, subject to a lease or arrangement mentioned in paragraph (a).

(2)In subsection (1)—

(a)“relevant instructions” are instructions received from a person in relation to the house which is, or is to be, subject to a lease or arrangement mentioned in subsection (1)(a), and

(b)“occupancy arrangement”, “unconnected person”, “relevant person” and “use as a dwelling” are to be construed in accordance with section 101 of the 2004 Act.

(3)The Scottish Ministers may by order—

(a)provide that “letting agency work” does not include things done—

(i)on behalf of a specified body, or

(ii)for the purpose of a scheme of a specified description, or

(b)otherwise modify the meaning of “letting agency work” for the time being in this section.

(4)A scheme falling within a description specified by the Scottish Ministers under subsection (3)(a)(ii) must be—

(a)operated by a body which does not carry on the scheme for profit, and

(b)for the purpose of assisting persons to enter into leases or occupancy agreements.

Commencement Information

I5S. 61 in force at 20.11.2014 by S.S.I. 2014/264, art. 2, Sch.

62Interpretation of Part 4S

In this Part—

  • house” is to be construed in accordance with section 101 of the 2004 Act,

  • landlord” is to be construed in accordance with section 101 of the 2004 Act,

  • letting agent registration number” has the meaning given by section 36(1),

  • letting agent” means a person who carries out letting agency work,

  • letting agent enforcement order” has the meaning given by section 48(7),

  • register” has the meaning given by section 29(1),

  • registered letting agent” has the meaning given by section 32(4),

  • tenant”, in relation to an occupancy arrangement, means the person who under the arrangement is permitted to occupy the house.

Commencement Information

I6S. 62 in force at 20.11.2014 for specified purposes by S.S.I. 2014/264, art. 2, Sch.

I7S. 62 in force at 31.1.2018 in so far as not already in force by S.S.I. 2016/412, art. 2, sch.

Back to top

Options/Help

Print Options

You have chosen to open The Whole Act

The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open The Whole Act as a PDF

The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open the Whole Act

The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

Close

Legislation is available in different versions:

Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.

Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.

Close

See additional information alongside the content

Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.

Close

Opening Options

Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once

Close

Explanatory Notes

Text created by the Scottish Government to explain what the Act sets out to achieve and to make the Act accessible to readers who are not legally qualified. Explanatory Notes were introduced in 1999 and accompany all Acts of the Scottish Parliament except those which result from Budget Bills.

Close

More Resources

Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • correction slips
  • links to related legislation and further information resources
Close

Timeline of Changes

This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.

Close

More Resources

Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
  • correction slips

Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:

  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • links to related legislation and further information resources