Scope: Scotland. Cited to Scottish instruments throughout. The Repairing Standard is a Scottish statutory standard in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006. It is not the English fitness for human habitation duty and not Awaab’s Law, neither of which applies in Scotland.
Our compliance check now covers Scotland, and so does the fine calculator. Enter a Scottish postcode and both answer in Scots law, cited to Scottish instruments — the check with your council’s registration and HMO position where we hold it, the calculator with the Scottish maximum for each offence and, where the consequence is not a fine, what it actually is. Still England and Wales only: the tenancy agreement checker, whose findings come from England and Wales statutes.
The duty
A landlord letting a house in Scotland must ensure it meets the Repairing Standard at the start of the tenancy and at all times during it. That is section 14 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006; the standard itself is in section 13.
The duty is not triggered by a complaint. It runs continuously, and a tenant can apply to the First-tier Tribunal where they believe it is not met.
Every element of section 13(1)
| Para | The element |
|---|
| (a) | The house is wind and water tight and in all other respects reasonably fit for human habitation. |
| (b) | The structure and exterior — including drains, gutters and external pipes — are in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order. |
| (c) | Installations for the supply of water, gas and electricity (including residual current devices) and for other fuel types, and for sanitation, space heating by a fixed heating system, and heating water, are in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order. |
| (d) | Any fixtures, fittings and appliances provided by the landlord are in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order. |
| (e) | Any furnishings provided by the landlord are capable of being used safely for the purpose for which they are designed. |
| (h) | The house meets the tolerable standard. |
| (i) | Common parts pertaining to the house can be safely accessed and used. |
| (j) | The house has satisfactory provision for, and safe access to, a food storage area and food preparation space. |
| (k) | In a tenement, common doors are secure and fitted with satisfactory emergency exit locks. |
Where are (f) and (g)?
They are omitted from the current text of section 13, and this is not a drafting curiosity — it changes where you look for the alarm rules.
Paragraphs (f) and (g) previously carried the smoke alarm and carbon monoxide requirements. Those moved into the tolerable standard under section 86 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987. Because paragraph (h) requires the house to meet the tolerable standard, alarms still bind through the Repairing Standard — but indirectly.
The practical consequence: an alarm failure is a tolerable standard failure, which is a paragraph (h) failure, which is a Repairing Standard failure. See the fire and smoke alarm standard and the tolerable standard.
The 2024 additions
Paragraphs (i), (j) and (k), together with the residual current device wording in (c) and the requirement for a fixed heating system, are the substantive extensions that took effect on 1 March 2024. They are the ones most likely to catch a landlord whose property was compliant for years:
- Fixed heating. Portable heaters do not satisfy paragraph (c). A property heated by plug-in convectors fails.
- Residual current devices. An older consumer unit without RCD protection is now an installation point, not a nice-to-have.
- Safe access to common parts, which reaches beyond the four walls you own.
- Food storage and preparation space, which bites on studio conversions and unusually small kitchens.
- Secure common doors with emergency exit locks in tenements — a genuinely Scottish problem, given the tenement stock.
How a failure is enforced
A tenant applies to the First-tier Tribunal. The Tribunal may make a Repairing Standard Enforcement Order requiring specified work within a specified period. Failure to comply without reasonable excuse is an offence, and the Tribunal can also make a rent relief order reducing the rent payable until the work is done.
Note the overlap with eviction: the same Tribunal decides both. Applying for an eviction order while a Repairing Standard application is outstanding puts both matters in front of the same body.
What this is not
It is not the tolerable standard, which is a lower, local-authority-facing standard that the Repairing Standard incorporates at (h). The two are constantly confused and they do different jobs.
Information tool, not legal advice. Scottish law only.
Common questions
What is the Repairing Standard in Scotland?
The statutory standard in section 13 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 that every private rented house in Scotland must meet at the start of a tenancy and throughout it. It covers wind and water tightness, structure and exterior, installations for water, gas, electricity, sanitation, fixed space heating and water heating, the landlord’s fixtures and furnishings, the tolerable standard, safe access to common parts, food storage and preparation space, and secure common doors in tenements.
Do portable heaters meet the Repairing Standard?
No. Paragraph (c) of section 13(1) requires installations for space heating by a fixed heating system to be in a reasonable state of repair and proper working order. A property heated by plug-in convectors does not meet the standard — this was one of the substantive extensions that took effect on 1 March 2024.
Why are paragraphs (f) and (g) missing from section 13?
They are omitted from the current text. They previously carried the smoke and carbon monoxide alarm requirements, which moved into the tolerable standard under section 86 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1987. Because paragraph (h) requires the house to meet the tolerable standard, alarms still bind through the Repairing Standard, but indirectly — an alarm failure is a tolerable standard failure and therefore a paragraph (h) failure.
What can the Tribunal do if my property fails?
Make a Repairing Standard Enforcement Order requiring specified work within a specified period. Failing to comply without reasonable excuse is an offence, and the Tribunal can also make a rent relief order reducing the rent payable until the work is done. The same Tribunal hears eviction applications, so an outstanding repairing case and an eviction application end up in front of the same body.