The Scottish Secure Tenancies (Proceedings for Possession) (Form of Notice) Amendment Regulations 2025

Scottish Statutory Instruments

2025 No. 404

Landlord And Tenant

The Scottish Secure Tenancies (Proceedings for Possession) (Form of Notice) Amendment Regulations 2025

Made

16th December 2025

Laid before the Scottish Parliament

18th December 2025

Coming into force

1st August 2026

The Scottish Ministers make the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by section 14(4) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001(1) and all other powers enabling them to do so.

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Scottish Secure Tenancies (Proceedings for Possession) (Form of Notice) Amendment Regulations 2025 and come into force on 1 August 2026.

Interpretation

2.  In these Regulations—

“the 2012 Regulations” means the Scottish Secure Tenancies (Proceedings for Possession) (Form of Notice) Regulations 2012(2).

Amendment of the 2012 Regulations

3.  The 2012 Regulations are amended in accordance with regulations 4 and 5.

4.  In regulation 3—

(a) in paragraph (1) after “paragraph (2)” insert “and (3)”,

(b) after paragraph (2) insert—

“(3) Where proceedings are to be raised on the ground set out in paragraph 15A of schedule 2 of the Act, the prescribed form of notice for the purposes of section 14(4) of the Act is contained in Schedule 3.”.

5.  The schedule of these Regulations is inserted as Schedule 3 of the 2012 Regulations.

MAIRI McALLAN

A member of the Scottish Government

St Andrew’s House,

Edinburgh

16th December 2025

Regulation 5

SCHEDULE NEW SCHEDULE 3 TO BE INSERTED INTO THE 2012 REGULATIONS

Regulation 3(3)

“SCHEDULE 3 NOTICE OF PROCEEDINGS FOR RECOVERY OF POSSESSION OR TERMINATION OF JOINT TENANT'S INTEREST ON ABUSIVE BEHAVIOUR GROUND

”

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Scottish Secure Tenancies (Proceedings for Possession) (Form of Notice) Regulations 2012 (“the 2012 Regulations”). The 2012 Regulations prescribe the form of notice to be used by a landlord when notifying its tenant and any qualifying occupier under a Scottish secure tenancy, within the meaning of Part 2 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 (“the 2001 Act”), that the landlord may raise proceedings for recovery of possession of the house.

A notice in the prescribed form must be served by a landlord on a tenant and any qualifying occupier, in terms of section 14(2) of the 2001 Act.

These Regulations take account of the amendments made to the 2001 Act by Part 2 of the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021 (asp 16, “the 2021 Act”). Section 22 of the 2021 Act amends sections 14 and 16 and schedule 2 of the 2001 Act. Section 22(4) of the 2021 Act inserts paragraph 15A into schedule 2 of the 2001 Act, creating a new ground on which the landlord under a Scottish secure tenancy may raise court proceedings under section 14 of the 2001 Act. On this new ground, the landlord may raise proceedings either: for recovery of possession of the house (in the case of a sole tenant), or for termination of the tenant’s interest in the tenancy (in the case of a joint tenant). Sub-paragraphs (1) and (2) of the new ground require that a person (“person T”) who is the tenant or one of the joint tenants has engaged in behaviour which is abusive of a person (“person P”) who is a partner or ex-partner of person T. In addition, the house to which the tenancy relates must be person P’s only or principal home, and person P must wish to continue living in the house. Where person T is the sole tenant, the landlord must also wish to recover possession of the house from person T for the purpose of entering into a tenancy with person P instead.

Regulations 4 and 5 amend the 2012 Regulations to provide that the prescribed form of notice where proceedings are to be raised on the new ground in paragraph 15A of schedule 2 of the 2001 Act is contained in the new schedule 3 of the 2012 Regulations.

The new notice sets out the time limit within which the landlord is permitted to raise proceedings and the ground on which the landlord intends to raise proceedings.

(1)

2001 asp 10 (“the 2001 Act”). Section 14 is relevantly amended by section 155(a) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 17), section 14(1) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 (asp 14) and section 22(2) and 22(5) of the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021 (asp 16). In relation to a short Scottish secure tenancy, section 14(4) is modified by section 36(8) of the 2001 Act. Section 36(8) was inserted by section 11(f) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 (asp 14). Section 109 is relevantly amended by section 155(c)(ii) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2010 (asp 17) and article 2 of S.S.I. 2011/445.

(2)

S.S.I. 2012/92. The Guidance Notes in schedule 1 are amended by regulation 3 of S.S.I. 2018/156. The Guidance Notes in schedule 2 are amended by regulation 4 of S.S.I. 2018/156.