Recovery of Possession
Most assured or short-assured tenancies are brought to an end through the mutual agreement of the landlord and tenant. If a tenant is reluctant to leave however, a landlord must follow the correct legal procedures to bring the tenancy to an end and remove the tenant from the property.
In order to bring a tenancy to an end, a landlord must serve a variety of Notices and obtain an order of the Court before possession of a propery can be recovered and a tenant ejected.
If the tenancy is an Assured Tenancy, the tenancy can only be brought to an end through mutual agreement or if the tenant breaches one of the terms of the tenancy.
If the tenancy is a Short-Assured Tenancy, the tenancy can be brought to an end through mutual agreement, following a breach of the tenancy or at any of the 'ish' dates. These are the dates when the contractual period of the tenancy ends. A tenancy can only be 'Short-Assured' if it is for an initial minimum period of 6 months and if an AT5 Notice was served prior to the creation of the tenancy. This Notice informs the prospective tenant that the tenancy is being offered on a Short-Assured basis.
For either type of tenancy, the correct Notices must be served at the correct time in order to enable the landlord to initiate court proceedings to recover the tenancy. The following Notices should be served in order to minimise the prospect of problems arising if you have to go to Court.
- Notice to Quit
- AT6
- Section 33 Notice (Short-Assured Tenancies only)
Sample copies of these Notices and associated guidance are available in the downloads section. The guidance explains the period of notice that must be given. It is important to note that this period varies for each notice and according to the circumstances of the tenancy. The notice periods specified are minimum periods.
The procedure for ending a tenancy is complicated. You are strongly advised to seek advice on the correct procedure to be followed. Perth & Kinross Council will accept no liability for any loss incurred as a result of using the sample notices. You should consult a solicitor if you are in any doubt as to the implications of these documents.
The sample documents that are available to download were originally produced by the City of Edinburgh Council's Letwise Team.
