Housing (Scotland) Act 1988

Assured tenancies

12 Assured tenancies

(1) A tenancy under which a house is let as a separate dwelling is for the purposes of this Act an assured tenancy if and so long as—

(a) the tenant or, as the case may be, at least one of the joint tenants is an individual; and

(b) the tenant or, as the case may be, at least one of the joint tenants occupies the house as his only or principal home; and

(c) the tenancy is not one which, by virtue of subsection (2) below, cannot be an assured tenancy.

(2) If and so long as a tenancy falls within any paragraph of Schedule 4 to this Act, it cannot be an assured tenancy; and in that Schedule “tenancy” means a tenancy under which a house is let as a separate dwelling.

13 Letting of a house together with other land

(1) If, under a tenancy, a house is let together with other land, then, for the purposes of this Act—

(a) if and so long as the main purpose of the letting is the provision of a home for the tenant or, as the case may be, at least one of the joint tenants, the other land shall be treated as part of the house; and

(b) if and so long as the main purpose of the letting is not as mentioned in paragraph (a) above, the tenancy shall be treated as not being one under which a house is let as a separate dwelling.

(2) Nothing in subsection (1) above affects any question whether a tenancy is precluded from being an assured tenancy by virtue of any provision of Schedule 4 to this Act.

14 Tenant sharing accommodation with persons other than landlord

(1) Where a tenant has the exclusive occupation of any accommodation (in this section referred to as “the separate accommodation”) and—

(a) the terms as between the tenant and his landlord on which he holds the separate accommodation include the use of other accommodation (“the shared accommodation”) in common with another person or other persons, not being or including the landlord, and

(b) by reason only of the circumstances mentioned in paragraph (a) above, the separate accommodation would not, apart from this section, be a house let on an assured tenancy,

the separate accommodation shall be deemed to be a house let on an assured tenancy and the following provisions of this section shall have effect.

(2) While the tenant is in possession of the separate accommodation, any term of the tenancy terminating or modifying, or providing for the termination or modification of, his right to the use of any of the shared accommodation which is living accommodation shall be of no effect.

(3) Where the terms of the tenancy are such that, at any time during the tenancy, the persons in common with whom the tenant is entitled to the use of the shared accommodation could be varied or their number could be increased, nothing in subsection (2) above shall prevent those terms from having effect so far as they relate to any such variation or increase.

(4) In this section “living accommodation” means accommodation of such a nature that the fact that it constitutes or is included in the shared accommodation is sufficient, apart from this section, to prevent the tenancy from constituting an assured tenancy of a house.

15 Certain sublettings not to exclude any part of sub-lessor’s premises from assured tenancy

(1) Where the tenant of a house has sublet a part but not the whole of the house, then, as against his landlord or any superior landlord, no part of the house shall be treated as excluded from being a house let on an assured tenancy by reason only that the terms on which any person claiming under the tenant holds any part of the house include the use of accommodation in common with other persons.

(2) Nothing in this section affects the rights against, and liabilities to, each other of the tenant and any person claiming under him, or of any two such persons.