Landlords urged to respond to Scotland PRS reform consultation

These proposals are part of the Scottish Government’s New Deal for Tenants, as set out in their Program for Government on 5 September 2023.

Shona Robison MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government, states in her foreword to the draft strategy paper that the reforms are integral to delivering Housing to 2040 – the long-term housing plan published by the Scottish Government in March 2023 – which included a goal to improve accessibility, affordability and standards across the rented sector.

Local authorities would be required to carry out an assessment of rents in their area and make a recommendation to MSPs about whether to impose rent controls in all or part of that area.  There would be a statutory requirement to consult the local authority and representatives of landlords and tenants before a rent control area can be introduced. The final decision would be made by MSPs.

Any rent control area would be in place for a fixed time. If a local authority wanted to extend this, they would have to carry out a further assessment showing a continued need for rent control.

The controls would be in the form of a restriction on the amount rents could be increased – either via a rent cap based on a fixed percentage or a formula which could be used to calculate the increase.

The controls would apply both to increases during a tenancy and to the rent set for a new tenant. Currently, tenants with a private residential tenancy cannot have their rent increased more than once in a 12-month period.

The Government now propose that rent increases in areas where rent controls are in place would be limited to one increase per property in any 12-month period, even if the tenant changes within that time.

The Scottish Government acknowledges that this may result in the rent being increased early in a tenancy depending on when the earliest date of increase arises.

Safeguards and exemptions for Landlords 

The Scottish Government say they are considering exceptions to rent caps, for example when a landlord has invested in certain improvements to a property.

It is also proposed that ‘new to market’ tenancies would be exempt from controls under certain circumstances, including

• The first tenancy of a property which has not been let as a principal home before.
• The first tenancy of a property following its being purchased with vacant possession by the current landlord.
• The first tenancy of a property which has been empty for a prolonged period.
• The first private residential tenancy of a property where the previous tenancy was a regulated tenancy under the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984

Courts and tribunals have the power to delay evictions

This measure would apply to all types of tenancies, in both the private and social rented sectors i.e. those under The Rent (Scotland) Act 1984, The Housing (Scotland) Act 1988, The Housing (Scotland) Act 2001 and The Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016.

The plans would introduce a specific requirement on both the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) and the Scottish Courts, that where an eviction order/decree is granted, they should consider whether a delay to the enforcement of that eviction should occur due to the circumstances of the case.

Factors that the Tribunal and Court would consider in deciding if it is reasonable to delay enforcement could include

• Whether any seasonal pressures apply, including but not limited to winter, or other relevant circumstances.
• Whether enforcement taking place during a particular period would cause financial hardship or a negative impact on the health or long-term disability of a tenant or a member of the tenant's household.
• Whether a delay to enforcement would detrimentally affect the landlords' health or long-term disability or cause financial hardship.

Proposals put forward to allow tenants more freedom to make their rented home their own would result in two categories of changes that private tenants with a PRT could make to personalise their home:

• Category 1: No approval from landlord required - private tenants would be allowed to make certain minor modifications to the let property without prior agreement from their landlord. For example, putting pictures and posters on walls.
• Category 2: Right to request and landlord cannot unreasonably refuse – private tenants would have a new right to request to make certain larger changes to the let property and for their request to not to be unreasonably refused, where they had lived in the let property for a set period of time. For example, painting the walls inside the property a different colour. In agreeing to a change, a landlord would be able to set conditions for approval but only where it is reasonable for them to do so.

Tenants would still be able to ask for more substantial modifications to the property's fixtures and fittings, but these would continue to be at the discretion of the landlord as is currently the case. This means the landlord could refuse modifications that did not fall into either category 1 or 2 above without any test of reasonableness.

This change would give tenants with a private residential tenancy the right to request to keep a pet and not be unreasonably refused.

Reasonable grounds for refusal would be:

• The property is unsuitable for the type or number of pets requested
• The animal is listed in the Schedule to The Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976.
• The animals are being kept for commercial purposes

Landlords would be entitled to set conditions for approval, such as requiring an additional amount of deposit.