Private residential tenancy model agreement: easy read notes

10. Rent Increases

The rent can only go up once a year. Before the rent can go up, the tenant must be given an official notice called a rent-increase notice. 

The landlord cannot increase the rent if they do not use the correct notice. If the landlord tells the tenant about a rent increase in any other way, the rent remains unchanged. For example, if a landlord tells the tenant in person.

This notice might be sent by email if the Agreement allows for this. Any rent-increase notice must be given to the tenant by the landlord at least 3 months before the date that the rent is to go up.

If the tenant receives a rent-increase notice, and the tenant thinks that the new rent would be higher than is being charged at that time for similar properties, then the tenant can ask a Rent Officer at Rent Service Scotland to decide whether the increase is fair.

'Fair' here means an amount similar to the rent which is, at that time, being charged for similar properties on new lettings. It does not mean how much the tenant can afford to pay.

Tenants must follow certain steps to ask the Rent Officer to make this decision and there is a 21 day time limit for this to be done. If these steps are not followed by the tenant within the 21 day time limit then the tenant will lose their right to challenge the rent increase - and the rent will be increased to the amount wanted by the landlord.

These steps are as follows:

1. The tenant must return Part 3 of the rent-increase notice to the landlord - to tell the landlord that the tenant intends to ask the Rent Officer to decide whether the rent increase is fair
2. The tenant must then fill in a form called the Tenant's Rent Increase Referral to a Rent Officer under section 24 (1) of the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 to be used for this purpose, a copy of which can be accessed on the Scottish Government website, or through Rent Service Scotland –see Useful Contacts and Links at the end of these Notes; and
3. The tenant must then send the finished form to the Rent Officer.

All of this must be done within 21 days after the tenant receives the rent-increase notice. The 21 day notice includes weekends and bank holidays. If this is not done then the rent increase will go ahead.

If the tenant accepts the rent increase, they should return Part 3 of rent-increase notice to the landlord to tell them that.

Part 3 of the rent-increase notice can also be returned to the landlord by the tenant to say if the tenant has not been given long enough notice of a rent increase - so if less than 3 months’ notice was given. If the landlord gives less than the 3 months' notice, then the tenant will not need to pay the increased rent until 3 months have passed. So the landlord cannot try and increase the rent on one month's notice for example.

If less than three months’ notice was given, the Tenant can return part 3 of the rent increase notice to the Landlord advising them of this. The Tenant does not need to pay the increased rent until 3 months have passed.