Registered Tenant Organisations (RTOs) – What are they?

Many tenants make their views known to their landlord through a tenants group.  Tenants groups have the right to register with their landlord.  The advantage of registering is that local authorities and registered social landlords have a legal duty to consult with registered tenant organisations.  

The right for tenants groups to register with their landlords was introduced by the Housing (Scotland) 2001 Act.  The Council must keep a register of RTOs and this must be open to the public for inspection at any time.  The register should give contact details for any RTOs in the area.

Registered tenant organisations are autonomous organisations that are separate from landlords.  They have written constitutions, their own committees and records of their accounts that are publicly available.