Eviction, ending a lease and subletting

If either you or your landlord would like to end the tenancy on the termination date of lease then the appropriate notice to quit by either party must be served in writing to the other party.  Your lease would normally state how much notice is required to terminate it. 

Under the Housing (Scotland) Act even when notice to quit has been served and the lease has come to its end you do not have to move out of the property.  If you don’t move out then the landlord must serve you with Notice to Quit and a Notice of Proceedings and must finally obtain an order for eviction from the court. 

If your landlord attempts to remove you or you are actually forcibly removed from the property by the landlord or any of his/her representatives then this constitutes an illegal eviction which is a criminal offence and the landlord could be liable for a fine and/or a prison sentence.  The landlord could also be ordered to pay compensation to the tenant, this is also the case if your landlord harasses you for any reason, this could be either verbal or physical harassment. If you feel threatened because of your landlord’s behaviour then you should report it to the police.

If towards the end of your lease neither party gives ‘notice to quit’ then your lease undergoes ‘tacit relocation’ (silent renewal) which means that the whole lease begins over again for the same length of time and with the same terms/conditions and rent amount stated in the original lease. The exception to this is if there is a clause in the lease that states the tenancy will operate on a month to month basis if neither party gives the apporpriate notice to quit to end the tenancy. The landlord cannot change the rent amount or any conditions of the lease throughout the duration of the tenancy without your agreement unless there is a clause in your lease, for example one stating that the rent will go up by a certain amount on a particular date   Any changes must be done when a new lease is issued, assuming that the old lease has been terminated correctly.

If you want to move out of your property before the lease reaches its termination date then you can only do this with the landlord’s permission.  The landlord can refuse and if you do move out he/she can hold you responsible for the rent payments until the lease ends or until someone else moves into the property in your place.  You may however be able to advertise the property and find someone else to move in and take over the remainder of your lease, you must obtain the landlords permission before doing this and the landlord may want to have a say as to who moves into the property.  This method of ending your tenancy is known as an ‘Assignation’ whereby a tenant transfers his/her lease to another person (the assignee), the assignee then becomes directly responsible for the rent and other obligations of the lease and the original tenant is then relieved of all liability for the remainder of the tenancy.

If you want to sublet your flat, you must obtain the landlords written permission first.  By subletting your flat you are still ultimately responsible for the rent and any damage done to the property.   It would be your responsibility to provide a lease for the tenants subletting the property and to ask for a deposit as security for any damage or unpaid rent/bills and also to serve the appropriate notice to quit if you want to move back into the property.