MovePlanEnding a tenancy in Scotland
If you're renting in Scotland, the notice rules on this site's England page don't apply to you — Scotland has run its own private tenancy system since December 2017, with its own notice periods on both sides.
Since the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 came into force on 1 December 2017, new private tenancies in Scotland have been private residential tenancies (PRTs) — open-ended by default, with no fixed term to run out and no assured-shorthold-style notice rules carried over from England. If you're renting in Scotland, don't assume this site's England page applies to you with a small adjustment; the whole system is different.
You, giving notice: 28 days, in writing
A PRT has no end date to work towards — mygov.scot says you can give notice at any time. The notice itself must be in writing (email, letter or handed over in person), must say plainly that you want to end the tenancy and give the date it ends, and must give at least 28 days. Sending it by email or letter means adding 2 extra days for delivery, so the practical minimum is 30 days unless you hand it over in person. A landlord can agree to a shorter period, but doesn't have to — get any such agreement confirmed in writing before you rely on it.
Your landlord, giving notice: 28 or 84 days, depending on the ground
| Notice period | When it applies |
|---|---|
| 84 days (12 weeks) | You've lived there 6 months or more, and the ground is one of: sale, sale by the mortgage lender, refurbishment, the landlord or a family member moving in, non-residential use, religious purpose, your job with the landlord ending, no longer needing supported accommodation, the landlord's registration being refused or revoked, an HMO licence being revoked or refused, or an overcrowding statutory notice (grounds 1–9 and 16–18). |
| 28 days (4 weeks) | Any of those same grounds where you've lived there less than 6 months. And always 28 days, however long you've lived there, where the ground is that you no longer live there, breach of the tenancy agreement, rent arrears over 3 consecutive months, a relevant criminal conviction, relevant antisocial behaviour, or associating in the property with someone who has a relevant conviction or has engaged in antisocial behaviour (grounds 10–15). |
A landlord can use more than one ground, and if the grounds have different notice periods, the longer one applies. A notice to leave isn't an eviction order: mygov.scot says that if you don't move out by the end of the notice period, your landlord will need to apply to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) for one. If you've had a notice and aren't sure where you stand, that's the point to get advice from Shelter Scotland or Citizens Advice Scotland.
What doesn't change
Deposit protection, meter readings, and the evidence you gather at check-out work the same way under a PRT as anywhere else in the UK — the end of tenancy checklist covers that side in full. If you're buying or selling rather than renting, moving house in Scotland covers the parts that are genuinely different there: missives instead of exchange, the Home Report, and Land and Buildings Transaction Tax.
MovePlan dates the rest of the move — packing, utilities, the address changes — from whichever day you actually leave, once your notice has worked out when that is. The dated plan is free; the letters are £14.99 once, for six months.