A short assured tenancy is a type of

tenancy A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a lessee or a tenant holds rights of real property by some form of title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold rights to real property, a l ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

that was introduced by the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988.Legislation.gov.uk
Part II A short assured tenancy gives

landlord A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, t ...

s some protection and freedom of action when letting their properties. Short assured tenancies have become the norm within the residential letting industry in Scotland. The equivalent legislation in

England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...

assured shorthold tenancy The assured shorthold tenancy (AST) is the default legal category of residential tenancy in England and Wales. It is a form of assured tenancy with limited security of tenure, which was introduced by the Housing Act 1988 and saw an important defau ...

. Following the enactment of the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016, it is no longer possible to create a short assured tenancy, instead a private residential tenancy must be entered into; with greater protections for the tenant such as security of tenure.

Minimum criteria

For a tenancy to be considered a short assured tenancy, the premises must be a separate dwelling and the tenant must occupy it as their main home. A prescribed notice (form AT5) has to be served prior to the start of the tenancy, confirming that the tenancy will be a 'short assured tenancy' and not an '

assured tenancy An assured tenancy is a legal category of residential tenancy to an individual (or individuals jointly) in English land law. Statute affords a tenant under an assured tenancy a degree of security of tenure. A tenant under an assured tenancy may ...

'. The duration of the tenancy must be at least six months and it must not be included in one of the following categories: * Company lets * Holiday lets * Lettings where the landlord resides at the premises * Very low rent tenancies (less than £6 per week) * Agricultural tenancies * Tenancies covered by the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984.

Main characteristics of a short assured tenancy

For a short assured tenancy a formal

notice Notice is the legal concept describing a requirement that a party be aware of legal process affecting their rights, obligations or duties. There are several types of notice: public notice (or legal notice), actual notice, constructive notice Se ...

(AT5) must be served prior to the start of the tenancy and the tenant is only given limited security of tenure. The landlord can seek possession of the premises on a number of grounds established in the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988, and once the agreement reached its end (the 'ish' date). The minimum length of the initial SaT tenancy is six months. If the initial term is less than six months or an AT5 is not served prior to the tenancy then regardless of the paperwork it will actually be an Assured Tenancy..

References

{{Tenancies in the United Kingdom Scots law Law of the United Kingdom Real estate in the United Kingdom Real property law Tenancies in the United Kingdom