Scotland Short Assured Tenancy to PRT Conversion: What Landlords Must Do

If you still have a tenant on a short assured tenancy or assured tenancy created before 1 December 2017, you may be wondering what happened to it. It did not convert just because time passed or a fixed term expired. It may have become a PRT if a legal conversion trigger occurred; if so, the landlord had 28 days to provide updated written terms.

The 1 December 2017 Cutoff

The Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 ended the creation of new assured and short assured tenancies from 1 December 2017 onward. A new private residential let that meets the statutory PRT test and is not within a Schedule 1 exclusion creates a PRT, regardless of what the written agreement calls itself.

But existing tenancies created before that date did not convert automatically on Day 1. They continued under their original terms until a triggering event occurred.

What Triggers Conversion

An old short assured or assured tenancy converts to a PRT when:

• The old tenancy ends and a new tenancy is granted — if the old tenancy is formally terminated and the parties then grant a new tenancy, it must be a PRT if it meets the statutory test and is not excluded. A tenant remaining after a short assured tenancy's fixed term expires does not, by itself, convert the tenancy; it can continue as a statutory periodic assured tenancy.
• The parties agree to convert — landlord and tenant can agree to convert the existing tenancy to a PRT at any time. This is common when landlords want to standardise their portfolio under one tenancy type.
• A new tenancy is granted — if the existing tenant leaves and re-lets under a new agreement, or if a new tenant takes over, the new tenancy must be a PRT.

In practice, many pre-2017 tenancies have already converted through one of these triggers without the landlord realising it.

The 28-Day Deadline for Written Terms

When an existing tenancy converts to a PRT — whether by agreement, by operation of law, or through a material variation of terms — the landlord must provide the tenant with:

1. Written PRT terms (either the Scottish Government Model PRT or a bespoke agreement)
2. The correct accompanying notes (Easy Read Notes for the Model PRT, Statutory Terms Supporting Notes for a bespoke agreement)

The deadline is 28 calendar days from the date the tenancy became a PRT. The same 28-day deadline applies when any existing PRT term is varied during the tenancy — the tenant must receive written notification of the revised terms within 28 days.

What Happens If You Missed the Deadline

If a conversion trigger occurred months or years ago and you never issued updated written terms, the tenancy is still a PRT. But the missing paperwork creates two problems:

1. Tribunal exposure — the tenant can issue a formal 28-day notice requesting written terms, and if you still fail to provide them, apply to the First-tier Tribunal for compensation of up to three months' rent (or six months' rent if both terms and notes are missing)
2. Tenancy status — a paperwork gap does not itself end or reset the tenancy. The PRT continues under its statutory framework.

The practical response: issue the written PRT terms and correct notes now. A late delivery is better than no delivery. Document the delivery with a signed receipt or prior written consent to electronic service.

Reviewing Old Tenancy Terms

If you are converting an old tenancy, do not simply relabel the existing agreement as a PRT. The mandatory statutory terms under SSI 2017/408 apply to every PRT, and an old assured tenancy agreement almost certainly contains clauses that conflict with them — fixed-term end dates (PRTs are open-ended), notice periods that do not match the PRT framework, and deposit terms that predate the custodial-only requirement.

Use either the Scottish Government Model PRT or a freshly drafted bespoke agreement, and serve the correct notes alongside it.

Updating Your Portfolio

If you manage multiple properties, audit each tenancy:

• When was the agreement signed?
• Has the fixed term expired and the tenant remained?
• Has any new agreement been issued since 1 December 2017?
• Did the tenant receive written PRT terms and the correct notes?

Any tenancy that answers "yes" to the second or third question and "no" to the fourth is a compliance gap.

The Scotland PRT Setup Guide includes a legacy tenancy audit workflow for reviewing and converting old tenancies, with the notes-matching matrix, document delivery logs, and a timeline for getting each tenancy into compliance.

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