On 6 October of this year, the Scottish Government introduced a provision (The Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 (Commencement No. 7, amendment and saving provision) Order 2017) to allow for the transfer of certain private rented housing cases from the jurisdiction of the Sheriff Court to the First Tier Tribunal (FTT) from 1 December 2017. If an application was made to the Sheriff Court before this date, the case will likely remain in the Sheriff Court and not be transferred to the FTT. Likewise, any appeals in the Sheriff Court, which have not been determined before 1 December, or which are made on or after 1 December in relation to a decision of a Sheriff made on or after that date should not be remitted to the FTT.
The 2014 Act provides for this transfer of jurisdiction for various types of tenancy in the private rented sector, including assured and short assured tenancies under the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988. It is not only actions for repossession that are transferred but also actions concerning the repairing standard, the right to adapt rented houses and landlord registration. It is important to note that jurisdiction in respect of criminal offences in terms of housing legislation (for example, operating without a HMO licence or as an unregistered landlord) is not transferred out of the Sheriff Court.
Landlords should be aware of the changes to how their cases will be handled in the future and specialist advice should be sought to ensure applications are made correctly. If you require advice please do not hesitate to contact a member of our team who specialise in housing law in the private rented sector.