In Scotland, Landlords must not try to trick their tenants into evicting them.

A judge issued the first ruling in favor of a tenant in an eviction lawsuit.

Landlords were cautioned not to try to mislead tenants leaving after a court ruled in favor of a tenant.

Scotland’s first wrongful termination order came after Edinburgh landlord César Dominquez-Lopez was ordered to pay compensation to former tenant Jesus Rodriguez-Ortega when a court found that he had evicted him on false grounds by falsely claiming that he intended to move out.

The court awarded the tenant three times the monthly rent, out of the possible six months it could have awarded.

While the court noted that the tenant had acted improperly by ‘throwing away’ the rented property before leaving, this apparently did not influence the decision; it was based on the landlord’s actions.

“Landlords must act sincerely.”

Paul Harper, Partner in the Dispute Resolution and Litigation Team at Lindsays, said: “Tenants who suspect they have had wool over their eyes can watch what the landlord does after repossessing and take legal action if they see any signs that the intention to move or sell the property was not genuine.”

A Scottish Private Residential Lease (SPRT) can be terminated on the basis that the owner intends to move into the rented property within three months of termination.

But if it is determined that they have not done this, the door is left open for the tenant to initiate a wrongful termination case.

In the Edinburgh case, the landlord obtained an eviction order on the basis that he intended to renovate the studio and move in with his family, but the court was reported to have heard that he did neither and moved to a new tenant in less than a month later your previous one is gone. He stated that intentions had been fabricated to remove the tenant from the property.

Lindsays believes that this case emphasizes the need for landlords to ensure that they have a genuine intention to move into the property, before and after repossessing.

The same applies if an owner intends to sell.

Harper added: “At the same time, however, the owner is allowed to change his intentions after regaining possession. If a landlord has genuine reasons to change his mind, he cannot be awarded a wrongful termination order.”

“But the question of whether there was a genuine change of mind is again based on the owner’s witness evidence. Consequently, the court will be the one to make a decision as to whether the landlord has misled the tenant or not.”

“The safest option, of course, is to go ahead with the original intention whenever possible or accept that there is a risk that the tenant will return for financial reward.”

“We advise landlords to heed the warnings in this case so that they are not pursued by a wrongful eviction claim that could be costly.”

This decision was based on the amount of the rent, whether the tenants were in arrears prior to termination, whether the landlord had maintained his dishonest position and for how long, and the “severity” of the dishonesty.

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