What’s the difference between Notice to Leave and Section 8?

Section 8 applies to assured periodic tenancies in England under the Housing Act 1988. Notice to Leave applies to Private Residential Tenancies in Scotland under the 2016 Act. Different forms, different grounds, different tribunals — they are not interchangeable.

Can the tribunal refuse my eviction even if the ground is established?

For discretionary grounds, yes — the tribunal must also be satisfied eviction is reasonable in the circumstances. For mandatory grounds the tribunal must grant the order if the ground is established and the procedure has been followed correctly.

Do I need to wait six months before evicting on Grounds 1 to 5?

The 2016 Act doesn’t impose a blanket "six-month rule" on these grounds. There are anti-abuse restrictions — evicting on a landlord-circumstance ground and then re-letting without the stated reason genuinely applying can result in penalties. Grounds 1 to 5 (sale, lender selling, refurbishment, landlord move-in, family move-in) require the longer 84-day notice period.

What notice period applies to multiple grounds?

The longest applicable. If you cite an 84-day ground alongside a 28-day ground, the 84-day period applies to the whole notice.

Notice to Leave Template (Scotland)

Notice to Leave — Scotland’s PRT Eviction Notice Template

Published 22 May 2026 · Last reviewed 8 August 2026

A free Notice to Leave for Scottish landlords ending a Private Residential Tenancy. Covers every Schedule 3 ground, applies the correct 28-day or 84-day notice period, and includes all the information the First-tier Tribunal expects.

Want the rules explained rather than the document?A Landlord's Guide to Scottish PRT Eviction Grounds — When and How You Can Recover Your Property — the deadlines, the notice periods and what invalidates them.

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When you need this document

In Scotland there is no equivalent of the English Section 21 — there never has been. To recover possession of a property let on a Private Residential Tenancy, the landlord serves a Notice to Leave on the tenant under the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016, then applies to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland if the tenant doesn’t leave.

There are 18 eviction grounds in Schedule 3. Some are mandatory (the tribunal must grant the order if the ground is established), some are discretionary (the tribunal must also be satisfied that eviction is reasonable). The notice period is either 28 days or 84 days, depending on the ground. Landlord-circumstance grounds (sale, refurbishment, moving in, family moving in) carry the longer 84-day period; tenant-conduct grounds (arrears, breach, antisocial behaviour) carry the shorter 28-day period.

This template generates a Notice to Leave with the right grounds, the right notice period, and all the information the tribunal requires before granting an eviction order. Use it for any PRT eviction — do not adapt a Section 8 form from England, which is a different legal framework entirely.

Who needs this document

You need possession of a Scottish property

The Notice to Leave is the only route. There is no Scottish equivalent of Section 21 and there never has been under the PRT regime.

Your tenant is three or more consecutive months in arrears

Ground 12, on 28 days’ notice as a conduct ground. Be ready to show what you did about benefit delays, because it weighs on reasonableness.

You intend to sell or move into the property

Grounds 1 and 4, on 84 days’ notice where the tenant has been there more than six months. Evidence of the intention is what the tribunal tests.

You are preparing a tribunal application

The Notice to Leave is the document the Housing and Property Chamber checks first. A defect in it ends the application before the merits are reached.

Mistakes that invalidate it

The errors that turn a document you thought was compliant into one that gives you nothing.

Using an English Section 8 or Section 21 notice

Neither has any effect in Scotland. The application is refused and you serve again, losing the whole notice period.

Applying the 84-day period when 28 days applies, or the reverse

The period turns on occupancy length and whether the ground is conduct-based. Getting it wrong makes the notice invalid, not merely early.

Treating a ground as mandatory

Every Schedule 3 ground has been discretionary since 2022. Proving the facts is necessary but not sufficient — you also have to show eviction is reasonable.

Miscalculating the date the tenant must leave

The date must fall on or after the notice period expires, and getting it a day early is the single most common reason a Scottish application is thrown out.

Removing the tenant without a tribunal order

A criminal offence. The notice expiring does not give you possession; only an eviction order does.

What’s included

All 18 grounds from Schedule 3 of the 2016 Act

Automatic notice-period calculation (28 days or 84 days per ground)

Multi-ground service with longest-applicable notice period

Includes the tribunal application information statutorily required

Pre-action engagement reminder for rent arrears cases

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Scottish PRT context

Scotland — how Notice to Leave differs from Section 8. The PRT framework predates the RRA 2025 by nearly nine years and operates entirely separately. Key differences from England: no fixed terms have ever existed, the Tribunal (not the County Court) hears eviction applications, deposit protection runs through three Scottish schemes (SafeDeposits / mydeposits / LPS Scotland) within 30 working days, and the Notice to Leave isn’t a prescribed form — but it must contain all the information specified in the Regulations.

For rent arrears (Ground 12 in Schedule 3, broadly equivalent to England’s Ground 8), Scottish landlords should engage with the tenant under the pre-action protocol before serving. The tribunal expects evidence of attempted engagement, signposting to advice services, and reasonable time to address the arrears — jumping straight to a notice without these steps weighs against the landlord at the tribunal.

Notice to Leave — Scotland’s PRT Eviction Notice Template

When you need this document

Who needs this document

Mistakes that invalidate it

What’s included

Scottish PRT context

Related templates

Private Residential Tenancy (PRT) Agreement Template

Section 8 Notice Template (Form 3A)

Rent Increase Notice

Deposit Prescribed Information Template

Frequently asked questions

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Sources

Generate your notice to leave in DocuTenant