Restrictions on applying for eviction order
87.Section 54 provides that a landlord cannot make an application to the Tribunal for an eviction order until the expiry of the relevant notice period in relation to the notice to leave. The relevant notice periods are 28 days if the tenant has been entitled to occupy the property for six months or less, or if the repossession ground (or grounds) the landlord is using is one or more of the following: failure to occupy as only or principal home, breach of tenancy agreement; rent arrears for three or more consecutive months; relevant criminal conviction; relevant anti-social behaviour; or association with a person who has a relevant conviction or has engaged in relevant anti-social behaviour. The notice period is 84 days if the tenant has been entitled to occupy the property for over six months and the notice to leave does not rely exclusively on the eviction grounds mentioned in subsection (3)(b). The notice period is calculated from the date of the tenant’s receipt of the notice. When the landlord is completing a notice which is to be served on a tenant, section 62(5) specifies the time that should be factored in for delivery for the purpose of the notice.
88.Section 55 sets out that a landlord cannot apply to the Tribunal for an eviction order using a copy of a notice to leave if it has been more than six months since the expiry of the relevant notice period.
89.Section 56 provides that before submitting an application to the Tribunal for an eviction order, the landlord must inform the local authority of his or her intention to apply to the Tribunal. The notice to the local authority must be given in the manner and form prescribed under section 11(3) of the Homelessness etc. (Scotland) Act 2003.
