Scotland’s rental market has always been strong with 38% of households renting. Of this 14% are through private landlords and most of these landlords will be aware that the First Minister for Scotland announced plans for an immediate rent freeze and evictions ban earlier this month, due to the cost-of-living crisis and because people are struggling to pay bills.
There has been a lot of criticism surrounding the new proposed legislation from organisations such as the Scottish Association of Landlords and the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations saying that the Government has failed to provide any detail about how the plans will actually work in practice.
The emergency legislation is to be implemented until the end of March 2023 and puts in place freezes on rent increases and evictions, along with a new tenant’s rights campaign. This means that landlords cannot increase rents after 06th September this year or before 31st March 2023.
There are no definite answers right now and it is expected that it will take a number of months for the legislation to pass and be issued. However it is important that private residential landlords keep on top of the ever changing legislation and manage their properties accordingly.