The law never stands still, and the way it applies to you and your organisation is constantly evolving. Our people are on top of these developments and can keep you up to date with some of the most interestings aspects of these changes. Check out our articles and updates for our perspective on issues that might affect you.
Whilst the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 received Royal Assent on 1 August 2014, it has recently been announced that some of the key tenancy management provisions in the 2014 Act will come into force next year, in 2019. This article summarises the changes being given effect in 2019 and outlines the key issues which will be of interest to registered social landlords in Scotland.
On 12 March 2018, the Lobbying (Scotland) Act 2016 came into force. The Act was introduced with the intention of bringing greater openness and transparency around lobbying Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). Any organisations who are likely to have any face-to-face contact with MSPs, Members of the Scottish Government, junior Scottish Ministers, special advisers or the Permanent Secretary of the Scottish Government should register with the Lobbying Register.
It can be extremely frustrating for clients and their representatives when one side of a dispute acts in a way that deliberately makes the litigation process longer and more costly. This can be a problem in cases which involve a party litigant – someone who does not use legal representation but chooses to make their own representations to court.
As pretty much everyone is aware, new data protection legislation comes into force in the form of the GDPR on 25 May 2018. For social landlords, it is clear that it's not just tenants and employees that they need to be aware of in terms of data protection and compliance with GDPR.
As most private landlords will know by now, a new form of tenancy for use in the Scottish private residential sector - the "private residential tenancy" or "PRT" came into effect on 1 December 2017. The Scottish Government has published a model PRT, but just how mandatory are the clauses it contains?