Scotland's New Notice to Leave and Rent-Increase Forms: What Changes on 1 April 2027

The Scottish Government has made new prescribed forms for private residential tenancies. The Private Residential Tenancies (Prescribed Notices and Forms) (Scotland) Regulations 2026 (SSI 2026/279) were made on 30 September 2026, laid before the Scottish Parliament on 2 October 2026, and come into force on 1 April 2027.

They replace the 2017 forms that every Scottish landlord uses today for a Notice to Leave and a rent increase. Here is what changes and, just as important, which form to use between now and then.

The key date: which form to use

The rule is set by the date you give the notice.

• Notice given before 1 April 2027: use the current forms in the 2017 Regulations (SSI 2017/297). The 2026 Regulations expressly keep the old forms for notices given before that date.
• Notice given on or after 1 April 2027: use the new forms in the 2026 Regulations.

On 1 April 2027 the 2017 Regulations are revoked, along with two sets of temporary modification regulations from 2022 and 2023.

Do not start using the new forms early, and do not keep using the old ones after 31 March 2027. In Scotland the prescribed form is mandatory, not just its contents. In McAnally v Boyle [2025] UT 53 the Upper Tribunal held that a notice never in the prescribed form cannot be saved, and without a valid Notice to Leave the tribunal cannot hear an eviction application.

Where each form lives

The 2026 Regulations also contain a tenant's notice of intention to apply to the tribunal (schedule 1), the tenant's referral to a rent officer (schedule 3) and a notice to leave for a sub-tenant (schedule 5). As before, Scottish PRT forms have no form numbers. They are identified by schedule, so take care if you see anyone refer to "the schedule 5 notice" after April 2027.

What changes on the Notice to Leave

The new schedule 4 form is clearer for tenants. The main differences you will notice:

• "The tenant(s) has lived in the property since." A new line in Part 1. It matters because the notice period depends on how long the tenant has lived there.
• A homelessness paragraph. The form tells the tenant to speak to their local council if they are worried about having somewhere to live, and lists the council, Shelter Scotland, Citizens Advice and a solicitor as places to get advice.
• Plain-English ground boxes. Part 2 lists all 18 eviction grounds as tick boxes in everyday words, such as "Your Landlord intends to sell the Let Property" and "You are in rent arrears over three consecutive months".
• Details and evidence. Part 3 asks for the particulars of each ground, including, for arrears, the amount owed and the period over which it built up. It also asks you to list the evidence you attach, and tells the tenant that evidence helps them understand why you are seeking eviction.
• The end of the notice period. Part 4 asks for the date before which you will not apply to the tribunal, which must be at least the day after the 28-day or 84-day notice period ends.

What changes on the rent-increase notice

The new schedule 2 form makes several changes:

• 30 days to challenge. The form tells the tenant they have 30 days from receiving the notice to refer it to a rent officer. Today it is 21 days.
• Online referral. The form points the tenant to an online referral form on mygov.scot.
• The rent officer cannot go above your figure. The form tells the tenant that a rent officer cannot set a rent higher than the increase you proposed. This reflects section 25 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025, which applies to rent-increase notices given on or after 1 April 2027.
• The last increase. You must give the date the rent was last increased, if there was one, and confirm the new rent starts at least 12 months after any previous increase.
• A Rent Control Area warning. The form says it cannot be used where the property is in a Rent Control Area, unless the property is exempt. As at October 2026 no Rent Control Area has been designated.

The three-month notice period for the increase stays the same.

Joint tenants: one can end it for everyone

Also from 1 April 2027, section 44 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 lets one joint tenant end the tenancy for all of the joint tenants. Today they all have to agree.

The tenant who wants to leave must first send a written "pre-notice" to every other joint tenant and to you, at least 2 months and no more than 3 months before giving the formal notice. The formal notice must come with a statement that the pre-notice was given, and evidence of it. Within 7 days they must also show you that the other joint tenants got a copy of the formal notice. None of this applies if all the joint tenants give notice together.

For landlords: if a pre-notice arrives, put it on the file and diary the window. Talk early to anyone who wants to stay about whether you will offer them a new tenancy.

What DocuTenant will do

Our Notice to Leave and Scottish rent-increase notice use the 2017 forms today. Those are the right forms for any notice given before 1 April 2027. We plan to update both before April so that a notice dated on or after 1 April 2027 uses the new form, and we will update this guide when that is live.

Between now and April 2027

• Serving a rent increase before April? Use the current form. A notice given in March 2027 stays under the current rules, even if the increase takes effect after 1 April.
• Serving a Notice to Leave before April? Use the current schedule 5 form, and give yourself time so the notice is not caught in the changeover.
• Check your own templates. If you keep your own copies of the 2017 forms, mark them "for notices given before 1 April 2027 only".

For more on how the eviction grounds work, see our guide to Scottish eviction grounds. For the changes that started on 6 October 2026, see wrongful termination and succession.

This article is general guidance on the law as at 3 October 2026. It is not legal advice. For a specific case, speak to a solicitor.