Structure and Summary of the Act Part 5 – Termination Chapter 2 – Termination by tenant
75.Sections 48 and 49 provide that a tenant can only bring the tenancy to an end by writing to the landlord to advise him or her of the date the tenancy will end. The tenant must give the landlord a minimum amount of notice (see discussion of section 49(3) below). Section 26 of the Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 sets out (rebuttable) presumptions as to when a document that has been served by post or electronically is deemed to be received. The notice given by the tenant to the landlord must be given freely, without coercion and cannot be submitted before the tenant is occupying the let property. If it can be proved that the tenant was coerced into giving notice, the notice will be void.
76.Section 48(3) provides that a tenancy will not come to an end if the tenant has given the landlord notice that he or she is leaving but, before the specified leaving date arrives, the tenant makes a request to the landlord to remain in the property and the landlord agrees to the tenant’s request.
77.Section 49(2) provides that a landlord can waive the tenant’s minimum notice period. The landlord’s agreement to this must be in writing.
78.Section 49(3) sets out the minimum notice a tenant must give a landlord. It is whatever period the parties agree or, if they do not agree a period, it is 28 days. Section 49(4) provides that any agreement between the parties as to the notice period must be in writing and cannot be made before the tenancy becomes a private residential tenancy.