“Improve the immediate and longer term housing outcomes” for victim-survivors who want to remain in the family home: that is how the Scottish Government described the purpose of these powers when it published guidance earlier this year. The latest step is dry on the surface but important in practice. A new Act of Sederunt updates Scotland’s Summary Cause Rules 2002 so sheriff courts have the right summons and decree forms for domestic abuse-related tenancy actions. The measure was made on 3 September 2026, laid before the Scottish Parliament on 4 September and comes into force on 5 October 2026. (legislation.gov.uk) According to legislation.gov.uk, the Court of Session approved draft rules submitted by the Scottish Civil Justice Council and inserted three new forms into the rulebook: Form 3za, Form 3zb and Form 28l. That may read like court-office housekeeping, but it is the sort of housekeeping that decides whether a new protection can actually be used on the ground by councils and housing associations. (legislation.gov.uk)

The rule change sits behind section 22 of the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021, which was brought into force on 1 August 2026. In its policy note, the Scottish Government said Part 2 of that Act is meant to help domestic abuse victims in social housing stay in the family home and avoid homelessness, rather than being the person driven out. (legislation.gov.uk) From there, the legal route is clearer. Where an abusive tenant is the sole tenant, a social landlord can raise proceedings to recover possession so it can grant the tenancy to the victim-survivor instead. Where the abusive tenant is a joint tenant, the landlord can ask the sheriff court to end only that tenant’s interest, allowing the victim-survivor to remain in or return to the tenancy. (legislation.gov.uk)

What this week’s instrument does is put the paperwork in place for those cases. The official forms now set out claims for recovery of possession on the new ground in paragraph 15A of schedule 2 to the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001, alongside a separate form for terminating a joint tenant’s interest and a matching extract decree for enforcement. In plain English, Scotland’s courts now have dedicated templates for a very specific kind of abuse-related social housing case. (legislation.gov.uk) For housing officers, advisers and solicitors, that matters more than the jargon suggests. Once a court power exists, landlords still need notices, summons wording and decree wording that match the law. In effect, this Act of Sederunt is the bridge between the statute book and day-to-day sheriff court practice. (legislation.gov.uk)

Scottish Government guidance published on gov.scot in June says landlords should contact the victim-survivor from the outset if they are considering court action. Those conversations should cover the evidence being used, how the court process works, what safety arrangements are needed before the abusive tenant is told, and the interests of any children caught up in the case. The same guidance says a formal notice must be served on the tenant and any qualifying occupier, setting out the ground relied on and the time limit for raising proceedings. (gov.scot) There is a practical reality here around evidence as well. In its December 2025 policy note, the Scottish Government said Police Scotland would not routinely share information with social landlords unless there was an immediate risk and disclosure was proportionate, so landlords may need to rely on court conviction information as well as evidence from the victim-survivor and any witnesses. (legislation.gov.uk)

Once a case reaches court, the sheriff still has a job to do. The guidance says the court can adjourn proceedings, and where the usual route is used it must be satisfied that the new ground is met and that making the order is reasonable. In deciding reasonableness, the court must have particular regard to the risk of further abusive behaviour, while also looking at the wider circumstances of the case, including children whose views may need to be taken into account. (gov.scot) There is, however, a faster route in some cases. Where the abusive behaviour has led to a conviction for an offence punishable by imprisonment within the previous year, and the notice was served within the required time, the legislation provides a streamlined process for recovery of possession or termination of the abusive tenant’s interest. Shelter Scotland’s guidance for tenants puts that plainly: in those cases the landlord can move ahead without having to prove reasonableness in the usual way. (gov.scot)

For victim-survivors, the most important point is that the law is designed to keep the home, not simply tidy up the tenancy after the damage is done. Scottish Government guidance says that if a sole tenant is removed on the new ground, the social landlord must offer the victim-survivor a tenancy of the same house within 28 days, unless that is impossible or inappropriate. Shelter Scotland also notes that a person does not need to be named on the tenancy for the landlord to use this domestic abuse transfer route. (gov.scot) For social landlords, the message is straightforward enough. This is not a Westminster splash and it is not a London-led fix dressed up for the rest of the country; it is a Scotland-built housing protection now being fitted with the court forms needed to make it work. There is no duty to offer the abusive tenant another home, though Shelter Scotland says advice and help should be given on finding somewhere else to live. For tenants, councils and housing associations alike, 5 October 2026 is the date when the court process catches up with the law already on the books. (scotland.shelter.org.uk)