This page tells you about the rights that you have if you are a ‘qualifying occupier’ when legal action is being taken to take possession of the house you live in. It is important that you read this and make sure you know your rights.

What is a ‘qualifying occupier’?

You are a ‘qualifying occupier’ if you live in one of our tenants’ homes as your only or main home and:

• you are a member of the tenant’s family and aged at least 16;
• the tenant has, with our agreement, transferred the tenancy, sublet or otherwise given up possession of their home or any part of it to you; or
• they have, with our agreement, taken you in as a lodger.

If we apply to the court to take legal action to recover the home you live in you, as a qualifying occupier, have the right to apply to the court to be included in future proceedings.

If you want to apply to be included in court action, you should speak to a solicitor. You are entitled to have the court consider your rights alongside the tenant and you or your representative will be able to put your point of view to the court, for example, to explain the consequences on you of the repossession action.

There are many reasons why we would repossess your home. Although any action that we take will be against the tenant, the result may be that we will evict you from your home. However, we will only repossess your home as a last resort after considering all other alternatives first.

The law gives the reasons when we can take action to recover possession of your home. These include:

• rent due by the tenant has not been paid; and
• the tenant (or a person living with the tenant or visiting the tenant) has acted in an antisocial way towards or has harassed a person in the area.

We can only evict you when we have an order from the sheriff court.

To repossess your home we have to start legal proceedings in court. However before we can do this, we must serve on the tenant and every qualifying occupier a ‘notice of proceedings’.

This is like a final warning, which allows us to apply to the court (within six months of sending you the notice) to start legal action. Legal action can range from making a formal repayment agreement with the tenant, getting permission to start taking the rent out of the tenant’s wages or getting permission to evict the tenant and all of their household.

The notice will tell you:

• the earliest date that we can contact the court to ask for a court date (this must be at least four weeks away);
• that we may get an order from the sheriff court to make the tenant repay the rent payments they have missed or evict the tenant and everyone living with them from the property; and
• the reason or reasons why we want to take legal action against the tenant.

If we do not start legal proceedings (that is, ask for a court date) within six months of the date given on the notice, we will have to start the process again by sending you another notice of proceedings.

Don't ignore it! Talk to the tenant. Once you know why we have served the notice, you may be able to do something to stop the case going to court. For example, you may be able to pay the rent. Most repossession action is for rent arrears. Or, you might be able to help by making sure the tenant makes a repayment agreement as soon as possible and keeps to it.

If you want to be part of the court proceedings, you must apply to the court. You may want to contact a solicitor or a citizens advice bureau to help you. When you apply to the court to be a part of the proceedings, the court must agree to your request. This allows you to put your point of view to the court, for example to explain what the repossession action will mean to you. It will be for the sheriff to decide whether to take your views into account when deciding if it is reasonable to grant an order to possess the house.

If we decide to go ahead with court action, we will apply to the court and send the tenant a copy of the summons. The summons is a document which starts the court action. Before a court order can be granted, the case must be heard at the sheriff court. We will write to you and tell you that we have served a copy of the summons on the tenant. Because of data-protection law, we will not be able to give you any more information. However, if you want to know what is in the summons, you can ask to see a copy at the sheriff clerk’s office. This will tell you what date has been set for the court hearing. You can also find this date out by asking the tenant if we have sent the summons to them.

If the process has started, you should get independent advice. You can speak to a solicitor who can represent you in court. They will advise you if you are eligible for legal aid. Other independent rights organisations, such as Citizens Advice or Shelter, may be able to give you advice and help.

Good legal advice is vital, and the sooner the better. Things can get complicated! If you are facing court action for eviction, you should get legal advice immediately. You can get advice from Shelter and Citizens Advice and this is normally free. You can also get advice from a solicitor but you will have to pay (depending on your income).

For more information contact your Area Housing Office

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