Private residential tenancy model agreement: easy read notes

8. Rent

The Agreement should specify the amount of rent, and how often that amount is to be paid. The payment times might be weekly, every 2 weeks, every 4 weeks, monthly, 4 times a year or once every 6 months.

The rent payments could be due to be paid in advance (at the beginning of each such amount of time) or in arrears (after that amount of time has passed). The maximum amount of rent which a landlord can ask their tenant to pay in advance is 6 months’ rent.

The Agreement should say:

• the date on which the first payment is to be made and how long that amount of money will cover; and
• on which date rent will next need to be paid.

The Agreement lets the landlord say how the rent should be paid. For example, the landlord might want the rent payments to be paid by bank transfer or by cheque. It is possible for the tenant to pay using another way, if that is fair. For instance, it might not be considered fair to pay the rent by a method which would result in a high bank charge to the landlord, such as payments made using some credit cards.

The Agreement should also state if any services are to be included in the rent. This is to make it clear that the tenant would not have to pay extra for those services. For example, the rent might include the cost of lighting a shared hall or stair cleaning costs. Any services which are paid monthly should be included as part of the rent. For example, if a landlord pays for stair and window cleaning and charges the tenant monthly for this cleaning that would be included. The services which are included in the rent should be listed in the Agreement along with the amount for each service.

Where there are one-off payments throughout a tenancy, such as where the landlord agrees to carry out a repair for the tenant for a fee, then this will not form part of the rent.

The landlord is not allowed to charge a tenant for other services - such as the cost of preparing a lease, 'key money', administration charges, or for the cost of preparing an inventory etc. These charges are known as 'premiums'. If the landlord charges a premium, the tenant should write and ask for a refund. If the landlord refuses to provide a refund, then a claim could be made through the Tribunal. The tenant could also contact the local council’s landlord registration team, or, if the landlord holds a HMO licence, the tenant could contact the local council’s licensing team to help with this.

The local council may contact tenants to ask them about the rent they pay for the property they are living in. The council can do this in order to support their assessment of rent conditions in the local area.  

Rents for properties with a private residential tenancy in a rent control area can only rise every 12 months by a maximum amount of the consumer prices index (CPI) plus 1%, up to a maximum of 6%. This applies even if a new tenancy starts during this period.

Rents for properties with a private residential tenancy in a rent control area can only rise every 12 months by a maximum amount of the consumer prices index (CPI) plus 1%, up to a maximum of 6%. This applies even if a new tenancy starts during this period. 

More information on this can be found on the 'rent controls' page on gov.scot.