The Act Part 2 – Termination of Scottish secure tenancies in cases involving abusive behaviour
137.The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 (“the 2001 Act”) creates and regulates a class of residential tenancies known as Scottish secure tenancies. These are tenancies in the social sector, where the landlord is either a local authority landlord, a registered social landlord (such as a housing association) or Scottish Water. A Scottish secure tenancy may not be brought to an end except in the circumstances specified in section 12(1) of the 2001 Act. One of those circumstances is where a landlord obtains a court order under section 16(2) of the 2001 Act for recovery of possession. A landlord is only entitled to recover possession on certain grounds, set out in schedule 2 of the 2001 Act. Section 14 of the 2001 Act sets out a process which a landlord must follow before the landlord can raise proceedings (by way of summary cause) for recovery of possession. The landlord must serve notice on the tenant specifying a ground or grounds on which recovery is sought. Proceedings may not be raised until the period of time specified in section 14(4) of the 2001 Act has passed after service of the notice.
138.Part 2 of the Act creates one new ground for recovery of possession by a landlord, namely that the tenant, who is a sole tenant, has engaged in behaviour which is abusive of a partner or ex-partner. This is to allow the landlord to enter into a new tenancy with the partner or ex-partner who is the victim of the abusive behaviour.
139.Part 2 also allows a landlord to apply for an order terminating a tenant’s interest in a Scottish secure tenancy, where that tenant is a joint tenant with the partner or ex-partner, and has engaged in behaviour which is abusive of the partner or ex-partner.