Letting a Room in Your House
You are a resident landlord if you are letting part of your own house - the house you are living in - to someone else. The house has to be your only or main residence. You do not count as a resident landlord if you live in one flat in a 'purpose-built' block such as a tenement and your tenant lives in another flat in the same block.
If you are considering letting part of your accommodation, you should check your Title Deeds to ensure that there are no conditions which prohibit this. In addition, if you have taken out a loan on the property, you may need to get the lender's permission to let out part of the property.
The amount of rent you can charge is unrestricted providing the letting arrangement began on or after 02nd January 1989. The amount and any arrangements for increasing the rent should be negotiated with your tenant. If the rent you charge is payable weekly, you must provide the tenant with a Rent Book. You are entitled to require your tenant to pay a deposit and again, the amount of the deposit should be negotiated with the tenant.
If you want the tenant to leave, you must give the tenant a valid Notice to Quit. The Notice must be in writing and must contain certain information about the tenant's basic rights. You must give at least 4 weeks notice of the time you want the tenancy to end. The tenancy will not be terminated until a valid notice to quit is served and has elapsed.
In most cases, the tenant will leave at the end of the notice period. If the tenant does not leave however, a Court Order will be required before you can legally evict the tenant. The court must grant the order but it has discretion to postpone, normally for a few weeks, the date on which the tenant must leave to give the tenant time to make other arrangements. If the tenant does not have exclusive use of any part of your property then it may not be necessary to obtain a Court Order to evict them. If you are unsure about any aspect of recovering possession of your property, you should seek legal advice.
Further information about letting a room in your house is available in this Scottish Government Leaflet -
Letting a Room in Your HouseIf letting part of your own home is your only landlord activity, you are not required to register with the local authority in terms of the Landlord Registration process.
