When you’ve found a house or flat to rent, you’ll need to sign a Tenancy agreement. This is the paperwork that makes up the contract between you and your landlord. It will tell you what your rights and responsibilities are as a tenant, as well as when you need to pay your rent and the rules you must follow when living in the property.
In Scotland, there are different types of tenancy agreements. If you’ve not started studying yet the type of tenancy agreement you will have is called a private residential tenancy. This is the case for any tenancy starting on or after 1 December 2017. If you are already a student and moved into your property before 1 December 2017 you will probably have a different type of tenancy. This could be an assured or a short assured tenancy.
Whatever type of tenancy you have, you’ll have certain basic rights as a tenant. These include the right to live in the property without being disturbed by other people, to have repairs carried out when needed and to have checks done to make sure the property is safe. For more information, read Tenant's rights in Scotland.