The Court of Session has made the Act of Sederunt (Summary Cause Rules 2002 Amendment) (Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021) 2026, published as SSI 2026/253. The instrument was made on 3 September 2026, laid before the Scottish Parliament on 4 September 2026 and comes into force on 5 October 2026. According to SSI 2026/253, the draft rules were submitted by the Scottish Civil Justice Council and approved by the Court of Session in line with the Scottish Civil Justice Council and Criminal Legal Assistance Act 2013. The formal rule-making power is exercised under section 104(1) of the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014.
The amendment changes the Summary Cause Rules 2002 rather than the underlying domestic abuse policy itself. In practical terms, it updates sheriff court procedure so that summonses and decree paperwork can accommodate housing cases brought on a domestic abuse ground. SSI 2026/253 adds references to new Forms 3za and 3zb in rule 4.1 on the form of summons. It also updates rule 23.6 on extract of decree by replacing a reference to Form 28k with a reference to the new Form 28l, and inserts all three forms into Appendix 1.
The explanatory note to SSI 2026/253 states that the changes are made in consequence of section 22 of the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021. That is an important distinction. The instrument is procedural: it supplies the court forms needed to operate existing statutory housing powers within summary cause cases. For policy and legal readers, that means the measure is best understood as implementation work. It aligns court documentation with the domestic abuse-related tenancy provisions already created elsewhere in Scots law, rather than establishing a separate new ground in this instrument alone.
One of the new forms deals with proceedings for recovery of possession where the ground relied on is paragraph 15A of schedule 2 to the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001. The explanatory note says this applies where a sole tenant has engaged in behaviour that is abusive of a partner or ex-partner. The stated purpose is to allow the landlord to recover possession from that tenant and then grant a new tenancy to the partner or ex-partner who is the victim of the abusive behaviour. In plain terms, the court form is being tailored to a route intended to support housing continuity for the person affected by abuse.
A second new form addresses joint tenancies. SSI 2026/253 prescribes a form of claim for proceedings seeking termination of a joint tenant's interest on the same paragraph 15A ground, where the tenancy is a Scottish secure tenancy and the tenant has engaged in abusive behaviour towards a partner or ex-partner. This is a narrower court outcome than full recovery of possession. The procedure is designed to let a landlord ask the court to end the abusive tenant's interest while leaving the tenancy position of the other occupier in view, subject to the statutory test and the court's order.
The instrument also creates a new Form 28l, described in the explanatory note as a form of extract decree for recovery of possession or termination of a tenant's interest on the domestic abuse ground. That matters because decree paperwork is the point at which the court's decision is translated into a formal document that can be acted upon. For sheriff court staff, landlords, housing officers and advisers, the immediate effect is administrative clarity. From 5 October 2026, cases brought on this ground should use the specific forms inserted by SSI 2026/253 rather than adapting older templates drafted for different types of housing claim.
The wider effect is procedural but still significant. The Act of Sederunt updates the machinery of summary cause process so that domestic abuse-related housing cases can proceed through standardised pleadings and decree forms that match the current statute book. For social landlords and representatives, the practical task is to review precedents, update internal guidance and ensure any claim raised on or after 5 October 2026 cites the correct form and decree references. For tenants and support organisations, the change should mean clearer court documents and a process better aligned with the protections already set out in the Domestic Abuse (Protection) (Scotland) Act 2021 and the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001.