Scotland from 6 October 2026: Bigger Wrongful Termination Awards and a Shorter Succession Rule

Two changes from the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 apply to private residential tenancies from 6 October 2026. A landlord who ends a tenancy on a false basis now faces a much bigger payment. And someone who lived with a tenant who dies can take over the tenancy after six months instead of twelve.

Both were switched on by the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 (Commencement No. 3) Regulations 2026 (SSI 2026/115). This guide explains what they mean, what is still not in force, and how to protect yourself.

What a wrongful termination order is

A wrongful termination order is a payment the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland can order a former landlord to make to a former tenant. Under sections 57 and 58 of the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 it covers two situations:

• the tribunal granted an eviction order because the landlord misled it
• the tenant left after a Notice to Leave because the landlord misled them into leaving

The classic example is a landlord who serves notice saying they intend to sell, and then re-lets the property at a higher rent once the tenant has gone.

What changed on 6 October 2026

Section 34 of the 2025 Act rewrote section 59 of the 2016 Act, which sets the amount.

The tribunal picks a figure in the range by looking at how the wrongful termination happened and the impact it had on the tenant. It can go below three times the relevant sum if it thinks that is right in all the circumstances.

Some worked examples:

• Rent of £700 a month. The relevant sum is £840, because that is higher. The range is £2,520 to £30,240.
• Rent of £1,200 a month. The relevant sum is £1,200. The range is £3,600 to £43,200. Under the old rules the most this tenant could have been awarded was £7,200.

Succession: 12 months becomes 6

When a sole tenant dies, certain people who lived with them can take over the tenancy. Section 48 of the 2025 Act cut the qualifying period from 12 months to 6 months for three groups under the 2016 Act:

• an unmarried partner, who must have lived in the property as their only or principal home for at least 6 months before the death (section 67)
• a family member who meets the other conditions in section 68
• a carer who meets the other conditions in section 69

It applies where the tenant dies on or after 6 October 2026. A spouse or civil partner never needed a qualifying period and still does not.

One practical point: for a partner to inherit, the tenant must have told you in writing that the partner was living there. Keep any such letter or email on the tenancy file.

What is not in force yet

Other parts of the 2025 Act have been widely reported but do not yet apply to private tenancies. As at 3 October 2026:

• Rent caps in Rent Control Areas. No area has been designated. Councils only began assessing local rents in April 2026.
• Rent officer and tribunal limited to your proposed rent (section 25). Starts on 1 April 2027, for rent-increase notices given on or after that date.
• How often rent can rise outside a Rent Control Area (section 24). Not yet in force.
• A duty on the tribunal to consider delaying an eviction (section 28). Not yet in force.
• Tenants asking to keep a pet or make changes to the property (section 35). Only the power to make regulations has been switched on. No regulations have been made, so tenants do not have these new rights yet.
• One joint tenant ending the tenancy for everyone (section 44). Fully in force on 1 April 2027.

We cover the April 2027 changes in our guide to Scotland's new prescribed forms.

How to protect yourself

Bigger awards mean a careless or weak eviction is now far more expensive. Three habits help.

Use the prescribed Notice to Leave, exactly. Until 1 April 2027 a Notice to Leave must be in the form in schedule 5 of the 2017 Regulations (SSI 2017/297). In McAnally v Boyle [2025] UT 53 the Upper Tribunal held that section 73 of the 2016 Act only forgives errors made inside the prescribed form. A notice that was never in that form cannot be rescued, and the tribunal cannot hear the eviction at all.

Only use a ground you genuinely mean, and keep the proof. If you serve on the sale ground or the landlord-moving-in ground, keep evidence that you meant it at the time: estate agent instructions, correspondence with your lender, plans for your own move. If your plans change after the tenant leaves, write down why, and when, at the time. A wrongful termination claim turns on whether you misled the tenant or the tribunal.

Remember that eviction is never automatic. All 18 eviction grounds are discretionary, so the tribunal must also be satisfied that eviction is reasonable. In Langah Ltd v Riaz & Ahmed [2026] UT 73, the Upper Tribunal upheld a refusal to evict even though the tenants owed more than £8,500 in rent. The First-tier Tribunal had given weight to the risk of homelessness for the tenant and her children. The Upper Tribunal accepted that a different tribunal might have decided the other way, but found no error of law. The lesson: record every step you take before serving notice. Letters about the arrears, offers of a payment plan and signposting to advice all count.

For the full list of grounds and notice periods, see our guide to Scottish eviction grounds and our Notice to Leave template page.

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.