36 Failure to comply with provisions of rent agreements.
(1) If, in the case of a variation of the terms of a regulated tenancy, there is a failure on the part of the landlord to observe any of the requirements of section 34 or 35 above, any excess of the rent payable under the terms as varied over the terms without the variation shall be irrecoverable from the tenant.
(2) If, in the case of the grant of a tenancy, there is a failure on the part of the landlord to observe any of the requirements of section 34 or 35 above, any excess of the rent payable under the tenancy so granted (for any contractual or any statutory period of the tenancy) over the previous limit shall be irrecoverable from the tenant.
(3) In subsection (2) above the “previous limit” shall be taken to be the amount which (taking account of any previous operation of this section) was recoverable by way of rent for the last rental period of the previous tenancy of the dwelling-house, or which would have been so recoverable if all notices of increase authorised by section 36(2) of the Housing (Financial Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1972 or by this Act had been served.
(4) A default in complying with subsection (5)(c) of section 35 above shall not apply to rent for any rental period after the default is made good, and, if a rent agreement with a tenant having security of tenure is put into effect earlier than the date when it is provided under section 35 above that it may take effect, such a default shall not affect the rent for any rental period beginning after that date.
37 Recovery from landlord of sums paid in excess of recoverable rent, etc.
(1) Where a tenant has paid on account of rent any amount which, by virtue of this Part of this Act, is irrecoverable by the landlord, then, subject to subsection (3) below, the tenant who paid it shall be entitled to recover that amount from the landlord who received it or his personal representatives.
(2) Subject to subsection (3) below, any amount which a tenant is entitled to recover under subsection (1) above may, without prejudice to any other method of recovery, be deducted by the tenant from any rent payable by him to the landlord.
(3) ... No amount which a tenant is entitled to recover under subsection (1) above shall be recoverable at any time after the expiry of two years from the date of payment.
(1) Any person who, in any rent book or similar document, makes an entry showing or purporting to show any tenant as being in arrears in respect of any sum on account of rent which is irrecoverable by virtue of this Part of this act shall be liable to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale, unless he proves that, at the time of the making of the entry, the landlord had a bona fide claim that the sum was recoverable.
(2) If, where any such entry has been made by or on behalf of any landlord, the landlord on being requested by or on behalf of the tenant to do so, refuses or neglects to cause the entry to be deleted within seven days, the landlord shall be liable to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale, unless he proves that, at the time of the neglect or refusal to cause the entry to be deleted, he had a bona fide claim that the sum was recoverable.
39 Rectification of rent books in light of determina-tion of recoverable rent.
Where, in any proceedings, the recoverable rent of a dwelling-house subject to a regulated tenancy is determined by the First-tier Tribunal, then, on the application of the tenant (whether in those or in any subsequent proceedings) the Tribunal may call for the production of the rent book or any similar document relating to the dwelling-house and may order the correction of any entries showing, or purporting to show, the tenant as being in arrears in respect of any sum which the Tribunal has determined to be irrecoverable.
40 Adjustment for differences in lengths of rental periods.
In ascertaining for the purposes of this Part of this Act whether there is any difference with respect to rents . . . between one rental period and another (whether of the same tenancy or not) or the amount of any such difference, any necessary adjustment shall be made to take account of periods of different lengths; and for the purposes of such an adjustment a period of one month shall be treated as equivalent to one-twelfth of a year and a period of a week as equivalent to one-fifty-second of a year.
(1) The Secretary of State may make regulations—
(a) prescribing the form of any notice or other document to be given or used in pursuance of this Part of this Act;
(b) prescribing anything required or authorised to be prescribed by this Part of this Act; and
(c) prescribing matters as to which notice is to be given to a tenant of a dwelling-house let on or subject to a regulated tenancy by means of notices inserted in rent books and similar documents and the forms of such notices.
(2) Any such regulations shall be made by statutory instrument which shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
(3) If any rent book or similar document which does not conform to the prescribed requirements is used by or on behalf of any landlord, the landlord shall be liable to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
(1) In this Part of this Act—
“contractual period” means a rental priod of a regulated tenancy which is a period beginning before the expiry or termination of the protected tenancy;
“contractual rent limit” has the meaning assigned to it by section 28(1) above;
“notice of increase” means a notice of increase under section 29(2) or 30(2) above, as the case may require;
“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations under section 41 above, and references to a prescribed form include references to a form substantially to the same effect as the prescribed form;
“recoverable rent” means rent which, under a regulated tenancy, is or was for the time being recoverable, having regard to the provisions of this Part of this Act;
“a rent agreement with a tenant having security of tenure” has the meaning assigned to it by section 34 above;
“rental period” means a period in respect of which a payment of rent falls to be made;
“statutory period” means any rental period of a regulated tenancy which is not a contractual period.
(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(1) The registration areas for the purposes of this Part of this Act shall be the areas of local authorities.
(2) The Secretary of State may, after consultation with the local authority or local authorities concerned, make directions—
(a) as to the groupings of registration areas or parts thereof, or
(b) deeming any part of a registration area to be a separate registration area,
and any reference in this Part of this Act to a registration area shall include a reference to a grouping of registration areas or parts thereof and any area deemed to be a separate registration area by virtue of this subsection.
(3) Subject to section 43A below,The Secretary of State shall for every registration area, after consultation with the local authority or local authorities for that area, appoint such number of rent officers for the area as he may think fit.
(4) Where the Secretary of State made a direction under subsection (2) above, or an appointment under subsection (3) above, which came into force on 16th May 1975, he shall be deemed to have consulted the local authority or local authorities concerned for the purposes of the said subsection (2) or (3) if he consulted either the existing or the new local authority or local authorities before that date.
(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(7) References in this Act to the rent officer are references to any rent officer appointed for any area under this section.
(1) The Secretary of State may, if he thinks fit, make arrangements (“rent registration arrangements”) with another person (a “rent registration service provider”) for the performance by that person in accordance with the arrangements of the functions mentioned in subsection (2) below.
(2) Those functions are the functions, under this Part of this Act and Chapter 2 of Part 4 of the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016, of the rent officer for such registration area or areas as are specified in the rent registration arrangements.
(3) While rent registration arrangements are in force in relation to a registration area, section 43(3) above shall not apply in respect of that area.
(4) The appointment of any rent officer appointed for a registration area in relation to which rent registration arrangements have been made shall terminate on the date on which the arrangements come into force.
(5) Rent registration arrangements shall not include any provision calculated to influence the exercise of the rent registration service provider’s judgment in the performance of his functions.
(6) A rent registration service provider performing functions in pursuance of rent registration arrangements shall not be regarded as a servant or agent of the Crown and shall not have any status, immunity or privilege of the Crown.
(7) References in this Part of this Act (other than sections 43, 43B, 43C and this section), Chapter 2 of Part 4 of the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 and any other enactment (including an enactment contained in subordinate legislation) to a rent officer shall, as respects a registration area in relation to which rent registration arrangements are in force, be construed as references to the rent registration service provider responsible for the performance of the functions of the rent officer for that area.
(8) A rent registration service provider may perform his functions through an employee or agent and, if he does so—
(a) any decision of, and anything else done or omitted to be done by or in relation to, the employee or agent shall, for the purposes of any enactment (including an enactment contained in subordinate legislation), be deemed to be a decision of or, as the case may be, done or omitted to be done by or in relation to the rent registration service provider; and
(b) where any enactment refers to the personal knowledge, experience or opinion of a rent officer the knowledge, experience or opinion of the employee or agent shall be deemed to be that of the rent registration service provider.
(9) Subsection (8)(a) above is without prejudice to section 43C below.
43B Supplementary provisions regarding rent registration service providers.
(1) Where—
(a) rent registration arrangements are in force in relation to a registration area (“existing arrangements”); and
(b) the Secretary of State decides not to make further such arrangements in relation to that area in respect of the period following the expiry or termination of the existing arrangements,
then, notwithstanding section 43A(3) above, he may under section 43(3) above appoint rent officers for the area, such appointments taking effect on the expiry or, as the case may be, the termination of the existing arrangements.
(2) For the purposes of subsections (3) and (4) below, a change of responsibility takes place where—
(a) under rent registration arrangements in relation to a registration area, a rent registration service provider assumes responsibility for the performance of functions which, immediately prior to the coming into force of the arrangements, were performed by a rent officer for the area or by another rent registration service provider; or
(b) a rent officer is appointed for a registration area in relation to which, immediately prior to the coming into force of the appointment, rent registration arrangements were in force.
(3) Where a change of responsibility takes place the Secretary of State shall publish, in such manner as he considers appropriate, a notice specifying—
(a) the registration area concerned;
(b) the date when the change takes effect; and
(c) the name and official address of the person who is rent officer or, as the case may be, rent registration service provider after that date.
(4) Where a change of responsibility takes place—
(a) any decision taken, and anything else done or omitted to be done in the performance of the functions mentioned in section 43A(2) above by or in relation to the person previously responsible for the performance of those functions shall have effect as if taken or, as the case may be, done or omitted to be done by or in relation to the person currently so responsible; and
(b) any court or tribunal proceedings by or against the person previously so responsible and relating to the performance by him of those functions shall continue by or against the person currently so responsible.
43C Rent registration service providers: restrictions on disclosure of information.
(1) Schedule 15 to the Deregulation and Contracting Out Act 1994 (restrictions on disclosure of information) shall, where contractor A within the meaning of that Schedule is a rent registration service provider, apply with the following modifications.
(2) Without prejudice to paragraph 10(1), references to an employee of contractor A and, where contractor B within the meaning of that Schedule is also a rent registration service provider, to an employee of contractor B shall be taken to include references to an agent, and the employee of an agent, of contractor A or, as the case may be, of contractor B.
(3) Subject to subsections (4) to (6) below, references to authority A shall be taken to be references to the rent officer for any registration area specified in the rent registration arrangements.
(4) In paragraph 2(a), the reference to authority A shall be taken to be a reference to such a rent officer or the Secretary of State.
(5) In paragraphs 3(2)(b), 4(2)(b), 5(b) and 8 and, in paragraph 10(1), in the definition of “ancillary services”, the reference to authority A shall be taken to be a reference to the Secretary of State.
(6) In the definition of “related function” in paragraph 10(1), the reference to a function of authority A which is certified by that authority shall be taken to be a reference to a function of a rent officer which is certified by the Secretary of State.
(1) The rent officer for any area shall prepare and keep up to date a register for the purposes of this Part of this Act and shall make the register available for inspection in such place or places and in such manner as the Secretary of State may direct.
(2) The register shall contain, in addition to the rent payable under a regulated tenancy of a dwelling-house—
(a) the prescribed particulars with regard to the tenancy; and
(b) a specification of the dwelling-house.
(3) A copy of an entry in the register certified under the hand of the rent officer or any person duly authorised by him shall be receivable in evidence, and shall be sufficient evidence of that entry, in any court or tribunal and in any proceedings.
(4) A person requiring such a certified copy shall be entitled to obtain it on payment of the prescribed fee.
(5) Any entry—
(a) in a register (hereinafter referred to as “the old register”)
(i) which was kept under section 39 of the Rent (Scotland) Act 1971 before 16th May 1975, or
(ii) which is kept for any area which ceases to be a registration area as a result of the establishment of a new registration area, or
(b) in a separate part of an old register in which rents are registered for dwelling-houses in respect of tenancies to which sections 55 to 59 below apply.
which relates to a dwelling-house which is situated in a new registration area shall be deemed for the purposes of this Part of this Act to be an entry in the register or, as the case may be, in such a separate part of the register kept under this section for that new registration area.
(6) The old register shall be kept by such rent officer, and made available for inspection in such place or places and in such manner as the Secretary of State may direct; and subsections (3) and (4) above shall apply to any entry in the old register which is deemed to be an entry in the register kept for a new registration area.
(7) In this section “new registration area” means a registration area established under section 37 of the Rent (Scotland) Act 1971 or section 43 above on or after 16th May 1975.
(1) An application for the registration of a rent for a dwelling-house may be made to the rent officer by the landlord or the tenant, or jointly by the landlord and the tenant, under a regulated tenancy of the dwelling-house.
(2) Any such application must be in the prescribed form and contain the prescribed particulars in addition to the rent which it is sought to register.
(3) Subject to subsection (4) below and section 49A, where a rent for a dwelling-house has been registered under this Act no application by the tenant alone or by the landlord alone for the registration of a different rent for that dwelling-house shall be entertained before the expiry of three years from the relevant date (as defined in subsection (5) below) except on the ground that, since that date, there has been such a change in the condition of the dwelling-house (including the making of any improvement therein), the terms of the tenancy, the quantity, quality or condition of any furniture provided for use under the tenancy (excluding any deterioration in that furniture due to fair wear and tear) or any other circumstances taken into consideration when the rent was registered or confirmed as to make the registered rent no longer a fair rent.
(3A) An application such as is mentioned in subsection (3) above shall not be entertained on the ground only that, since the relevant date, there has been a change in the amount of council tax payable in respect of the dwelling-house.
(4) An application such as is mentioned in subsection (3) above which is made by the landlord alone and is so made within the last three months of the period of three years referred to in that subsection may be entertained before the expiry of that period, notwithstanding that the application is not made upon any of the grounds mentioned in that subsection.
(5) In this section and section 47 below, “relevant date”, in relation to a rent which has been registered under this Part of this Act, means the date from which the registration took effect or, in the case of a registered rent which has been confirmed by the rent officer, the date from which the confirmation (or, where there have been two or more confirmations, the last of them) took effect but does not mean the date from which registration took effect under section 49A of this Act.
(6) For the purposes of subsection (5) above, where a rent is registered as a result of a decision of the First-tier Tribunal the date from which that registration took effect shall be taken to be the date on which the rent determined by the rent officer was registered or, as the case may be, the confirmation of the registered rent by the rent officer was noted.
(7) No application for the registration of a rent for a dwelling-house shall be entertained at a time when there is in operation, with respect to that dwelling-house, a condition relating to rent imposed under any of the following enactments, that is to say,—
(a) section 3 of the Housing (Rural Workers) Act 1926;
(b) section 101 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1950 and
(c) Schedule 4 to the Housing (Financial Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1968.
(8) Subject to section 47(4)
below, the provisions of Part I of Schedule 5 to this Act shall have effect with respect to the procedure to be followed on applications for the registration of rents.
(1) A person intending—
(a) to provide a dwelling-house by the erection or conversion of any premises or to make any improvements in a dwelling-house, or
(b) to let on a regulated tenancy a dwelling-house which is not for the time being subject to such a tenancy and which satisfies the condition either that no rent for it is registered under this Part of this Act or that a rent is so registered but not less than three years have elapsed since the relevant date (as defined in section 46(5) above),
may apply to the rent officer for a certificate, to be known as a certificate of fair rent, specifying a rent which, in the opinion of the rent officer, would be a fair rent under a regulated tenancy of the dwelling-house or, as the case may be, of the dwelling-house after the erection or conversion or after the completion of the improvements.
(2) The regulated tenancy to which the application for the certificate of fair rent relates shall be assumed to be a tenancy on such terms as may be specified in the application and, except in so far as other terms are so specified, on the terms that the tenant would be liable for internal decorative repairs, but no others, and that no services or furniture would be provided for him.
(3) The provisions of Schedule 6 to this Act shall have effect with respect to applications for certificates of fair rent.
(4) Subject to section 46(7)above, where a certificate of fair rent has been issued in respect of a dwelling-house, an application for the registration of a rent for the dwelling-house in accordance with the certificate may be made within three years of the date of the certificate either,—
(a) by the landlord under such a regulated tenancy of the dwelling-house as is specified in the certificate; or
(b) by a person intending to grant such a regulated tenancy of the dwelling-house;
and, in lieu of the provisions of Part I of Schedule 5 to this Act, the provisions of Part II of that Schedule shall have effect with respect to an application so made.
(1) In determining for the purposes of this Part of this Act what rent is or would be a fair rent under a regulated tenancy of a dwelling-house, it shall be the duty of the rent officer or, as the case may be, of the First-tier Tribunal, subject to the provisions of this section, to have regard to all the circumstances (other than personal circumstances), and in particular to apply their knowledge and experience of current rents of comparable property in the area, as well as having regard to the age, character and locality of the dwelling-house in question and to its state of repair and, if any furniture is provided for use under the tenancy, the quantity, qualtiy and condition of the furniture.
(2) For the purposes of determination it shall be assumed that the number of persons seeking to become tenants of similar dwelling-houses in the locality on the terms (other than those relating to rent) of the regulated tenancy is not substantially greater than the number of such dwelling-houses in the locality which are available for letting on such terms.
(3) There shall be disregarded—
(a) any disrepair or other defect attributable to a failure by the tenant under the regulated tenancy or any predecessor in title of his to comply with any terms thereof, and
(b) any improvement (including any improvement to the furniture provided for use under the tenancy), or the replacement of any fixture or fitting carried out, otherwise than in pursuance of the terms of the tenancy, by the tenant under the regulated tenancy or any predecessor in title of his, and
(c) if any furniture is provided for use under the regulated tenancy, any deterioration in the condition of the furniture due to any ill-treatment by the tenant, any person residing or lodging with him, or any subtenant of his.
(4) In the application of this section to a converted tenancy, the references in subsection (3) above to the tenant under the regulated tenancy shall include references to the tenant under the tenancy before the conversion.
(1) The amount to be registered as the rent of any dwelling-house shall include any sums payable by the tenant to the landlord for the use of furniture or for services or in respect of council tax, whether or not those sums are separate from the sums payable for the occupation of the dwelling-house or are payable under separate agreements.
(2) Subject to subsection (3) below, there shall be noted separately on the register the amount, if any, of the registered rent which, in the opinion of the rent officer or the First-tier Tribunal, is fairly attributable to each of the following—
(a) the use of furniture;
(b) the provision of services;
(c) the use of part of the premises comprised in a dwelling-house as a shop or office or for business, trade or professional purposes.
(d) the council tax.
(3) There shall not be noted on the register under subsection (2) above any amount which in the opinion of the rent officer or rent assessment committee is less than 5 per cent. of the registered rent.
(4)(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(6) Where, under a regulated tenancy, the sums payable by the tenant to the landlord include any sums varying according to the cost from time to time of any services provided by the landlord or a superior landlord or of any works of maintenance or repair carried out by the landlord or a superior landlord, the amount to be registered under this Part of this Act as rent may, if the rent officer is satisfied or, as the case may be, the rent assessment committee are satisfied, that the terms as to the variation are reasonable, be entered as an amount variable in accordance with those terms.
(1) This section applies in the case of a regulated tenancy or an agreement relating to the tenancy which provides for the payment by the tenant to the landlord of sums in respect of council tax and—
(a) a rent was registered before 1st April 1993; or
(b) an application is made before 1st April 1993 under section 46 above for the registration of a rent but a rent is not registered in respect of that application.
(2) At any time before 1st April 1994 or the expiry of 3 years beginning with the relevant date (within the meaning of sections 46 and 47), whichever is the earlier, an application for the registration of a rent for a dwelling-house may be made to the rent officer by the landlord or the tenant, or jointly by the landlord and the tenant, under a regulated tenancy of the dwelling-house for the purpose of taking into account sums payable by the tenant to the landlord in respect of council tax.
(3) Any such application shall be in the prescribed form and shall—
(a) specify the rent (including sums payable by the tenant to the landlord in respect of council tax) which it is sought to register; and
(b) contain such other particulars as may be prescribed.
(4) Where an application is made under subsection (2) above, the rent officer shall determine the amount by which the registered rent might reasonably be increased to take account of sums payable by the tenant to the landlord in respect of council tax.
(5) The amount of any rent registered under this section shall be the total of the sums payable in respect of the previously registered rent and the amount determined under subsection (4) above.
(6) In any case where a rent officer has before him for determination applications under this section and section 46 above, he shall not make a determination in the application under this section until he has made a determination under the said section 46.
(7) No more than one application in respect of any tenancy may be made under this section.
(1) Subject to subsection (2) below, the registration of a rent for a dwelling-house takes effect if the rent was determined by the rent officer, from the date when it was registered.
(2) If (by virtue of section 46(4)
above) an application for registration of rent is made before the expiry of the period of three years referred to in subsection (3) of that section, the registration of a rent for a dwelling-house does not take effect before the end of that period.
(3) If, on application for the registration of a different rent, the rent officer confirms the rent for the time being registered, the confirmation of that rent takes effect from the date when it is noted in the register.
(4) If the rent for a dwelling-house is determined by the First-tier Tribunal, the registration of that rent takes effect from the date when the First-tier Tribunal makes its decision.
(5) The date from which the registration or confirmation of a rent takes effect shall be entered in the register.
(6) As from the date on which the registration of a rent takes effect any previous registration of a rent for a dwelling-house ceases to have effect.
(7) Where a valid notice of increase under any provision of Part IV of this Act has been served on a tenant and, in consequence of the registration of a rent, part but not the whole of the increase specified in the notice becomes irrecoverable from the tenant, the registration shall not invalidate the note, but the notice shall, as from the date from which the registration takes effect, have effect as if it specified such part only of the increase as has not become irrecoverable.
(1) Where a rent agreement is made in writing as respects a dwelling-house for which a rent is registered, an application may be made in accordance with this section for the cancellation of the registration.
(2) The application shall be made jointly by the landlord and the tenant under the agreement to the rent officer, and the application shall not be entertained before the expiry of three years from the relevant date as defined in section 46(5) above.
(3) An application under this section must be in the prescribed form and contain the prescribed particulars, and must be accompanied by a copy of the rent agreement.
(4) The Secretary of State may make regulations under section 53 below prescribing the procedure on an application under this section.
(5) If the rent officer is satisfied that the rent payable under the rent agreement does not exceed a fair rent for the dwelling-house, he shall, subject to subsection (6) below, cancel the registration, and he shall make an entry in the register of that fact and of the date from which the cancellation takes effect.
(6) Where under the terms of the rent agreement the sums payable by the tenant to the landlord include any sums varying according to the cost from time to time of any services provided by the landlord, the rent officer shall not cancel the registration unless he is satisfied that those terms are reasonable.
(7) The cancellation of the registration shall be without prejudice to a further registration of a rent at any time after concellation.
(8) The rent officer shall notify the applicants of his decision to grant, or to refuse, any application under this section and, where he grants the application, of the date from which the cancellation takes effect.
(9) In this section “rent agreement” means—
(a) an agreement increasing the rent payable under a protected tenancy which is a regulated tenancy, or
(b) where a regulated tenancy is terminated, and a new regulated tenancy is granted at a rent exceeding the rent under the previous tenancy, the grant of the new tenancy.
Where the rent for a dwelling-house has been registered but the dwelling-house has ceased to be let under a regulated tenancy, an application to the rent officer may be made by the landlord in accordance with this section for the cancellation of the registration, and the provisions of section 51(2) to (4), (7) and (8) above shall apply, with any necessary modifications, to an application made under this section as they apply to an application made under the said section 51.
(1) The Secretary of State may make regulations—
(a) prescribing the form of any notice, application, register or other document to be given, made or used in pursuance of this Part of this Act;
(b) regulating the procedure to be followed by rent officers ... whether under this Act , the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988 or Chapter 2 of Part 4 of the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016; and
(c) prescribing anything required or authorised to be prescribed by this Part of this Act.
(2) Regulations under subsection (1)(b) above may contain provisions modifying section 46, 47 or 50 above or Schedule 5 or 6 to this Act; but no regulations containing such provisions shall have effect unless approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
(3) Regulations made under this section shall be made by statutory instrument which, except in a case falling within subsection (2) above, shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.
(1) In this Part of this Act—
“improvement” includes structural alteration, extension or addition and the provision of additional fixtures or fittings, but does not include anything done by way of decoration or repair;
“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations under section 53 above, and references to a prescribed form include references to a form substantially to the same effect as the prescribed form;
“rental period” means a period in respect of which a payment of rent falls to be made.
(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
This section and sections 56 to 59 below apply to a tenancy where—
(a) the interest of the landlord under that tenancy belongs to a housing association or to the Housing Corporation, and
(b) the tenancy would be a protected tenancy but for section 1(1)(a) or 5 above but do not apply, and shall be deemed never to have applied, to a tenancy which is a lease under a shared ownership agreement within the meaning of section 83(3) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 (asp 10).,
and in this section and the said sections 56 to 59 “tenancy” means, unless the context otherwise requires, a tenancy to which those sections apply.
(1) There shall be a separate part of the register under Part V of this Act in which rents may be registered for dwelling-houses which are let, or are, or are to be, available for letting, under a tenancy to which sections 55 to 59 of this Act apply.
(2) Sections 22 to 27, 45 to 49A . . . , section 50(2) and section 53 above and Schedules 5 and 6 to this Act (and no other provisions of this Act) shall apply to a tenancy to which the said sections 55 to 59 apply, and, in their application to such tenancies, shall, in relation to that part of the register, have effect as if for any reference in those provisions to a regulated tenancy there were substituted a reference to a tenancy to which the said sections 55 to 59 apply.
(3) Registration in the said part of the register shall take effect on the date of registration:
Provided that registration before 1st January 1973 shall be provisional only until that date, and the date of registration shall be 1st January 1973.
(4) From the date of registration any previous registration of a rent for the dwelling-house shall cease to have effect.
(5) A rent registered in any part of the register for a dwelling-house, which becomes or ceases to be a dwelling-house under a tenancy to which the said sections 55 to 59 apply, shall be as effective as if it were registered in any other part of the register.
(6) Subject to subsection (5) above, references in the said sections 55 to 59 to registration are, unless the context otherwise requires, references to registration pursuant to this section.
(1) Where the rent payable under a tenancy would exceed the rent limit determined in accordance with sections 55 to 59 of this Act, the amount of the excess shall be irrecoverable from the tenant.
(2) Where a rent for the dwelling-house is registered, then, subject to section 58 below and Part IV of the Schedule to the Fire Precautions Act 1971, the rent limit is the rent so registered:
. . .
(3) Where no rent for the dwelling-house is registered, then, subject to subsection (5) below and Part IV of the Schedule to the Fire Precautions Act 1971, the rent limit shall be determined as follows—
(a) if the lease or agreement creating the tenancy was made before 1st January 1973, the rent limit is the rent recoverable under the tenancy, as varied by any agreement made before that date (but not as varied by any later agreement),
(b) if paragraph (a) above does not apply, and, not more than three years before the tenancy began, the dwelling-house was subject to another tenancy (whether before 1973 or later) the rent limit is the rent recoverable under that other tenancy (or, if there was more than one, the last of them) for the last rental period thereof,
(c) if paragraph (a) and paragraph (b) above do not apply, the rent limit shall be the rent payable under the terms of the lease or agreement creating the tenancy (and not by the rent so payable under those terms as varied by any subsequent agreement).
(4) The reference in paragraph (b) of subsection (3) above to another tenancy includes, in addition to a tenancy to which sections 57 to 59 of this Act apply, a regulated tenancy within the meaning of this Act—
(a) which subsisted at any time after the operative date, within the meaning of the Housing Act 1974; and
(b) under which, immediately before it came to an end, the interest of the landlord belonged to a housing association.
(5) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(6) Section 37 above shall apply as if any amount made irrecoverable by virtue of this section were irrecoverable by virtue of Part IV of this Act.
(7) A tenancy commencing (whether before or after the commencement of this Act) while there is in operation a condition relating to rent imposed under any of the enactments mentioned in section 46(7) above shall be disregarded for the purposes of subsection (3)(b) above in determining the rent limit under any subsequent tenancy of the dwelling-house.
(8) Where the rent is subject to the rent limit under subsection (3)(b) above, the landlord shall, on being so requested in writing by the tenant, supply him with a statement in writing of the rent which was recoverable for the last rental period of the other tenancy referred to in that paragraph.
(9) If, without a reasonable excuse, a landlord who has received such a request as is referred to in subsection (8) above—
(a) fails to supply the statement referred to in that subsection within 21 days of receiving the request, or
(b) supplies a statement which is false in any material particular,
he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
(10) This section shall not apply to rent for any rental period beginning before 1st January 1973.
(1) This section applies where a rent is registered for a dwelling-house (whether it is the first or any subsequent registration) which exceeds the rent limit for the dwelling-house immediately before the date of registration, unless at the date of registration there is no tenant and no person to whom the tenancy has been granted.
(2) Subject to subsection (9) below, the rent limit shall progress from the rent immediately before the date of registration to the registered rent in stages, and, . . . and paragraph 3 of Part IV of the Schedule to the Fire Precautions Act 1971—
(a) for any rental period beginning in the first stage, the rent limit shall be the rent limit immediately before the date of registration plus the greatest of—
(i) £104; or
(ii) one-quarter of the previous rent limit; or
(iii) one-half of the difference between the previous rent limit and the amount of the registered rent:
provided that nothing in this paragraph shall enable the rent to be increased above the amount of the registered rent;
(b) for any rental period beginning in the second stage the rent limit shall be the rent payable for the first stage plus any amount required to increase the rent payable to the registered rent.
(3) The first stage shall last for 52 weeks from the date of registration, or from the beginning of the first rental period for which the rent is first increased (by any amount) on or after that date, whichever is the later or for such other period as the Secretary of State may by order specify.
(4) Any subsequent stage shall last for 52 weeks from the end of the last previous stage, or from the beginning of the first rental period for which the rent if first increased (by any amount) after the end of the last previous stge, whichever is the later or for such other period as the Secretary of State may by order specify.
(5) If a tenancy of the dwelling-house is granted at any time when the rent limit is less than the registered rent, and the tenant is neither the person who, at the time when the previous tenancy (or the last previous tenancy) ended, was the tenant under that tenancy nor a member of that tenant’s family who resided with him, the registered rent shall become the rent limit from the beginning of the new tenancy, and the stages by which the rent limit was to progress up to the registered rent shall terminate.
(6) The registration of a lower or higher rent during the progression from the rent limit in force before the prior registration shall not alter the stages by which the rent limit is to progress, and if a higher rent is registered in the 52 weeks beginning with the first rental period for which the rent increased up to the rent registered on the prior registration, the first stage in the progression from that rent up to the later registered rent shall not begin until the end of that period of 52 weeks.
(7) The Secretary of State may by order amend subsection (2) above by varying or repealing any of the provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b) thereof, and the order may contain such supplementary or incidental provisions as he thinks fit.
(7A) An order under subsections (3) or (4) above shall be made by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament and may contain such supplementary or incidental material as the Secretary of State thinks fit.
(8) An order under subsection (7) above shall be made by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament and may be varied or revoked by a subsequent order made under that subsection.
(9) In subsection (2)(a) and (b) above, in relation to a rent registered before 1st December 1980, for the words from “the greater” to “limit” there shall be substituted the words “£78 per year”.
(10) In this section—
“noted amount” means the amount of the registered rent noted as fairly attributable to the provision of services under section 49(2) above;
“previous rent limit” means—
(a) where the increase is the first to be made since the date of registration of the rent, the amount payable by way of rent on that date, or
(b) in all other cases, the amount payable by way of rent on the relevant anniversary of that date,
Sections 212 and 213 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 (increase of rents of houses belonging to certain authorities without notice of removal) shall apply to a housing association such as is referred to in section 5(4) above or the Housing Corporation as they apply to any authority to which that section applies, . . . .
(1) Section 40 above shall apply for the purposes of sections 55 to 59 above as it applies for the purposes of Part IV of this Act.
(2) Where a rent determined by the First-tier Tribunal is registered in substitution for a rent determined by the rent officer, the date of registration shall be deemed for the purposes of sections 55 to 59 above to be the date on which the rent determined by the rent officer was registered:
Provided that a landlord shall not, by virtue of this subsection, be entitled to recover any rent for a rental period beginning before the date when the rent determined by the First-tier Tribunal was registered.
(3) The First-tier Tribunal shall have jurisdiction, either in the course of any proceedings relating to a dwelling-house or on an application made for the purpose by the landlord or the tenant, to determine any question as to the rent limit under the said sections 55 to 59, or as to any matter which is or may become material for determining any such question; ....
(4) Nothing in sections 55 to 59 above shall prevent or limit an increase in any amounts payable to the landlord for the provision of services which are variable by virtue of section 49(6) above.
(1) In this Part of this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
“housing association” has the same meaning as in the Housing Associations Act 1985except that it does not include—
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
a development corporation (within the meaning of the New Towns (Scotland) Act 1968); or
a co-operative housing association within the meaning of the Housing Associations Act 1985.;
“rental period” means a period in respect of which a payment of rent falls to be made.
(2) Expressions used in this Part of this Act are also used in Part IV or V of this Act shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the same meaning in this Part as in those Parts.
(1) The registration areas for the purposes of this Part of this Act shall be the areas of local authorities.
(2) The Secretary of State may after consultation with the local authority or local authorities concerned, make directions—
(a) as to the groupings of registration areas, or parts thereof, or
(b) deeming any part of a registration area to be a separate registration area.
(3) Where the Secretary of State made a direction under subsection (2) above which came into force on 16th May 1975, he shall be deemed to have consulted the local authority or local authorities concerned for the purposes of that subsection if he has consulted eigher the existing or the new local authority or local authorities before that date.
(4) Any reference in this Part of this Act to a registration area shall include a reference to a grouping of registration areas or parts thereof and any area deemed to be a separate registration area by virtue of a direction under subsection (2)(b) above.
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, this Part of this Act applies to a contract, whether entered into before or after the commencement of this Act, whereby one person grants to another person, in consideration of a rent which includes payment for the use of furniture or for services, the right to occupy as a residence a dwelling-house to which this Part of this Act applies.
(2) Subject to subsection (3) below, a contract falling within subsection (1) above and relating to a dwelling-house which consists of only part of a house is a contract to which this Part of this Act applies whether or not the lessee is entitled, in addition to exclusive occupation of that part, to the use in common with any other person of other rooms or accommodation in the house.
(3) Subject to subsection (5) below, this Part of this Act does not apply—
(a) to a contract under which the interest of the lessor belongs to Her Majesty in right of the Crown, or to a government department, or is held in trust for Her Majesty for the purposes of a government department; nor
(b) to a contract entered into on or after 3rd October 1980, where the interest of the lessor belongs to one of the bodies mentioned in subsection (4) below; nor
(c) to a contract for the leting of any dwelling-house at a rent which includes payment in respect of board if the value of the board to the lessee forms a substantial proportion of the whole rent; nor
(d) to a contract which creates a regulated tenancy; nor
(e) to a contract which created a controlled tenancy if that tenancy subsequently becomes a converted tenancy within the meaning of section 115(1) below.
(4) The bodies referred to in subsection (3)(b) above are—
(a) a council constituted under section 2 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, or a joint board or joint committee of two or more such councils, or the common good of such a council or any trust under the control of such a council;
(aa) Scottish Water;
(b) a development corporation established by an order made, or having effect as if made, under the New Towns (Scotland) Act 1968;
(c) the Scottish Special Housing Association;
(d) the Housing Corporation;
(e) a registered housing association within the meaning of the Housing Associations Act 1985;
(f) a housing co-operative within the meaning of section 22 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987; and
(g) any housing trust which was in existence on 13th November 1953 . . . .
(5) An interest belonging to Her Majesty in right of the Crown shall not prevent this Part of this Act from applying to a contract if the interest is under the management of the Crown Estate Commissioners or is an interest to which section 90B(5) of the Scotland Act 1998 applies.
(6) No right to occupy a dwelling-house for a holiday shall be treated for the purposes of this Part of this Act as a right to occupy it as a residence.
(7) A contract to which this Part of this Act applies is, in the following provisions of this Part of this Act, referred to as a “Part VII contract”.
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section this Part of this Act applies to any dwelling-house the rateable value of which on the appropriate day did not or, as the case may be, does not exceed £200, or in the case of a dwelling-house comprising or forming part of lands and heritages for which a rateable value is or was first shown on the valuation roll on or after 1st April 1978, £600.
(2) In relation to dwelling-houses comprising or forming part of lands and heritages for which a rateable value is or was first shown on the valuation roll on or after 1st April 1978, the Secretary of State may by order made by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament increase the said sum of £600 in subsection (1) above, and he may make different provision for different classes of case.
(3) The Secretary of State may by order under this section provide that, as from such date as may be specified in the order, this Part of this Act shall not apply to a dwelling-house the rateable value of which on such day as may be specified in the order exceeds such amount as may be so specified.
(4) An order under subsection (3) above—
(a) may be made so as to relate to the whole of Scotland or to such area in Scotland as may be specified in the order, and so as to apply generally or only to, or except to, such classes or descriptions of dwelling-houses as may be specified in the order; and
(b) may contain such transitional provisions as appear to the Secretary of State to be desirable.
(5) The power to make an order under subsection (3) above shall be exercisable by statutory instrument and no such order shall have effect unless it is approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
(6) For the purposes of this section, in relation to a dwelling-house which is not separately rated, “rateable value” means such proportion of the rateable value of the premises of which the dwelling-house forms part as may be determined to reflect the relationship between the value of the dwelling-house and the value of the said premises—
(a) by agreement in writing between the lessor and lessee; or
(b) failing such agreement, by the First-tier Tribunal, on an application by either party.
65 References of contracts to the First-tier Tribunal and obtaining by it of information.
(1) Either the lessor or the lessee under a Part VII contract . . . may refer the contract to the First-tier Tribunal.
(2) Where a Part VII contract is referred to the First-tier Tribunal under subsection (1) above it may, by notice in writing served on the lessor, require him to give to it, within such period (which shall not be less than seven days from the date of the service of the notice) as may be specified in the notice, such information as it may reasonably require regarding such of the prescribed particulars relating to the contract as are specified in the notice.
(3) If, within the period specified in a notice under subsection (2) above, the lessor fails without reasonable cause to comply with the provisions of the notice he shall be liable to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.
66 Powers of the First-tier Tribunal on reference of contracts.
(1) Where a Part VII contract is referred to the First-tier Tribunal and the reference is not, before the First-tier Tribunal has entered upon consideration of it, withdrawn by the party . . . who made it, the First-tier Tribunal shall consider it and then, after making such inquiry as it thinks fit and giving to each party to the contract and, if the dwelling-house is or forms part of a dwelling-house to which section 203 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987 applies, to the local authority, an opportunity of being heard or, at his or its option, of submitting representations in writing, the First-tier Tribunal, subject to subsection (2) below,—
(a) may approve the rent payable under the contract, or
(b) may reduce or increase the rent to such sum as it may, in all the circumstances, think reasonable, or
(c) may, if it thinks fit in all the circumstances, dismiss the reference,
and shall notify the parties and the local authority of its decision.
(2) On the reference of a Part VII contract relating to a dwelling-house for which a rent is registered under Part V of this Act, the First-tier Tribunal may not reduce the rent payable under the contract below the amount which would be recoverable from the tenant under a regulated tenancy of the dwelling-house.
(3) An approval, reduction or increase under this section may be limited to rent payable in respect of a particular period.
(4) Where the rent under a Part VII contract has been registered under section 67 below, the First-tier Tribunal shall not be required to entertain a reference, made otherwise than by the lessor and the lessee jointly, for the registration of a different rent for the dwelling-house concerned before the expiry of the period of three years beginning on the date on which the rent was last considered by the First-tier Tribunal, except on the ground that, since that date, there has been such a change in the condition of the dwelling-house, the furniture or services provided, the terms of the contract or any other circumstaces taken into consideration when the rent was last considered as to make the registered rent no longer a reasonable rent.
(5) The First-tier Tribunal shall not entertain a reference under subsection (4) above on the ground only that, since the relevant date, there has been a change in the amount of council tax payable in respect of the dwelling-house.
(1) The First-tier Tribunal shall keep a register and shall make the register available for inspection in such place or places and in such manner as the Secretary of State may direct.
(2) The First-tier Tribunal shall cause to be entered in the register, with regard to any contract under which a rent is payable which has been approved, reduced or increased under section 66 above—
(a) the prescribed particulars with regard to the contract;
(b) a specification of the dwelling-house to which the contract relates; and
(c) the rent as approved, reduced or increased by the First-tier Tribunal, and, in a case in which the approval, reduction or increase is limited to rent payable in respect of a particular period, a specification of that period.
(2A) For the purposes of subsection (2) above the rent shall include any sums payable by the lessee to the lessor in respect of council tax, whether those sums are payable by virtue of a contract under which a rent is payable or otherwise.
(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(4) A document purporting to be a certificate signed on behalf of the First-tier Tribunal relating to any entry in the register under subsection (2) above shall, until the contrary is shown, be deemed to have been signed on behalf of the First-tier Tribunal, and shall be sufficient evidence of the matters contained in the entry in the register.
(5) Any entry in a register (hereinafter referred to as “the old register”)
(a) which was kept under section 89 of the Rent (Scotland) Act 1971 before 16th May 1975, or
(b) which is kept for any area which ceases to be a registration area as a result of the establishment of a new registration area,
which relates to a dwelling-house which is situated in a new registration area shall be deemed for the purposes of this Part of this Act to be an entry in the register kept under this section for that new registration area.
(6) The old register shall be kept by the First-tier Tribunal and made available for inspection in such place or places and in such manner as the Secretary of State may direct; and subsection (4) above shall apply to any entry in the old register which is deemed to be an entry in the register kept for a new registration area.
(7) In this section “new registrataion area” means a registration area established under Part VII of the Rent (Scotland) Act 1971 or this Part of this Act on or after 16th May 1975.
Where the rent payable for any dwelling-house has been entered in the register under section 67 above then, subject to section 66(4) above, the lessor or the lessee . . . may refer the case to the First-tier Tribunal for reconsideration of the rent so entered.
(1) Where the rent payable for any dwelling-house is entered in the register under section 67 above, it shall not be lawful to require or receive on account of rent for that dwelling-house under a Part VII contract payment of any amount in excess of the rent so registered in respect of any period subsequent to the date of the entry or, where a particular period is specified in the register, in respect of that period.
(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(3) Where any payment has been made or received in contravention of this section, the amount of the excess shall be recoverable by the person by whom it was paid.
(4) Any person who requires or receives any payment in contravention of this section shall be liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months or to both; and
(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both;
and, without prejudice to any other method of recovery, the court by which a person is found guilty of an offence under this subsection may order the amount paid in excess to be repaid to the person by whom the payment was made.