No Rent Controls! Agents pledge to continue campaign

Propertymark has urged its members who feel frustrated by the changes to the Scottish Government’s so-called Cost of Living regulations ending on March 31 to get in touch.

They would help the trade body continue to campaign against rent controls in general in Scotland.  

The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act implemented a rent cap originally set at 0 per cent before going up to 3.0 per cent. Scottish ministers then voted to extend the powers available to them until September 30 2023, and again until March 31 this year.  

Patrick Harvie - the Scottish Government’s controversial Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants' Rights - has approached Propertymark to explain how the Scottish Government intends to move away from the Cost of Living Act.  

Once the cap is gone, the rent adjudication process will be changed so that choices must be based on one of the following three comparators:  

1. Open market rent; 2. A landlord’s proposed rental increase; or 3. A new taper calculation that will specify a maximum ‘reasonable’ increase for that tenancy.  

Tapering would only apply if a landlord’s intended rent increase was deemed unreasonable, and it would be determined by a percentage that would apply to such cases.  

Calculations for each individual situation would be determined by the gap between the current rate of rent and the open market value of similar tenancies in matching properties. The tapering process ensures that there is an upper limit based on the highest percentage for adjudicated rents.  

Propertymark says it’s been in frequent contact with Harvie since 2023 to present evidence about the detrimental effects of the Cost of Living Act, a lot of which was not considered by the Scottish Government.  

And 100 per cent of Propertymark members in Scotland reported evidence of landlords looking to sell their buy-to-let properties.

Rent increased by 5.1 per cent in the 12 months to March 2023 in Scotland, despite there being a rent cap.