Rent Freeze - time for agents to say what they REALLY think

Agents have only until the end of tomorrow, December 2, to feed into Propertymark’s response to a new consultation on the contraversial subject of rent controls.

The Scottish Government is formally assessing the impact of the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022, which introduced rent controls north of the border.

A requirement of the emergency legislation that froze rents in the private and public sectors is that every three months it must be reviewed to ensure there remains a need for it to be in place.

Propertymark continues to have serious concerns over the lack of evidence for such a significant piece of legislation that will impact the use and ownership of property and under-estimates the role agents and their landlords have as housing providers.

Member and non-member letting agents in Scotland are being encouraged to take part in an online survey to help to inform its contribution to the first review. You can see the survey on the Propertymark website.

Timothy Douglas, Head of Policy and Campaigns for Propertymark, says: “Patrick Harvie MSP wrote to me asking Propertymark to provide feedback on behalf of property agents across Scotland. Therefore, we have created a mechanism for agents to provide input so we can formulate a cohesive response.”

Harvie is the architect of the Scottish rent freeze legislation, passed as part of a deal between the Green Party and the Scottish National Party.

The freeze will operate until at least March 31 2023. Ministers have the power to vary the rent cap while it is in force - currently it’s set at 0 per cent.

The measures can be extended over two further six-month periods. Evictions are banned over the same period except in a number of specified circumstances, and damages for unlawful evictions have been increased to a maximum of 36 months’ worth of rent.

Harvie, Scotland’s Tenants’ Rights Minister, said in October when the freeze was agreed: “I am pleased that Parliament has passed this Bill to support tenants through the current cost of living crisis. People who rent their home are more likely to live in poverty or be on low incomes than other people, and many will be anxious about keeping up payments on their homes as their everyday expenses rise.

“With this Bill now set to become law, tenants in the social or private rented sector, or in student accommodation, will have stability in their homes and housing costs.

“I’m hugely grateful to MSPs for scrutinising and agreeing this legislation this week, ensuring these protections can be brought in with the urgency that this crisis demands.”