Scottish Letting Day: The power of connection in Scotland’s PRS

One of the more difficult aspects of being a landlord is that the job tends towards working in silos, quite apart from others in the sector.

We often find ourselves managing our properties, the relationships we have with our tenant customers, and the other people and organisations we deal with entirely by ourselves.

Some of this is inevitable. Many of us are one-man-or-woman bands, running small businesses by ourselves, and so some element of lone working is unavoidable or even desirable. It is a fact of life for landlords, but that does not mean we should not address the potential issues it raises.

Landlords should spend more time in each other’s company

In a recent episode of SAL’s podcast, Landlord Voice, we discussed this topic with Saskia from the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, the personal safety charity. It was an incredibly useful conversation, and I would urge everyone in Scotland’s private rented sector to catch up on it. It is available on almost every podcast platform out there.

The discussion considered some of the practical risks faced by people who work alone, particularly when entering unfamiliar environments or meeting people they do not know well. These are situations that landlords and letting agents encounter regularly. Sensible precautions, clear procedures and good communication can all help people to do their jobs with greater confidence and security.

However, I think we also need to address the broader issues that come with such a high level of lone working, while remaining alert to its advantages.

Landlords should spend more time in each other’s company. We should share ideas, problems, difficulties and opportunities. Knowing that there are peers out there who experience many of the same things you do in your day-to-day work can be incredibly positive for self-confidence and morale. It is not something to be underestimated.

It can also make us better landlords. No individual landlord will encounter every possible situation during their working life, but a community of landlords will possess an enormous amount of collective experience. Talking to others allows us to learn from the challenges they have faced, benefit from solutions they have found and avoid making the same mistakes.

That is particularly important in a sector as complex and fast-moving as Scotland’s private rented sector. Landlords must navigate changing legislation, regulation, taxation and standards while continuing to provide good homes and a professional service to tenants. It is much easier to understand and respond to those changes when we can discuss them with people who are facing the same pressures.

Bringing landlords together to learn best practice and build a community is key to what we do at SAL, and it has been central to our approach for the last 25 years. We hold events and discussions, and publish materials designed to bring Scotland’s landlords together and help us all learn from one another.

Scottish Letting Day

This is why our annual conference, Scottish Letting Day, is so important to our sector.

Scottish Letting Day is the largest gathering of landlords and letting agents in Scotland. Each year, we bring together landlords, letting agents, suppliers and other businesses for our trade exhibition, and we are proud to bring it back to Scottish Gas Murrayfield on Wednesday 4 November 2026.

We also have a diverse programme of speakers, including high-profile politicians who will be key to the future of our sector and from whom delegates can hear first-hand. We will cover areas such as sustaining a lettings business, the latest developments in renting, and what landlords can expect in both the immediate and longer-term future of the Scottish PRS.

It is a chance not only to hear from experts, but also to ask questions, exchange experiences and speak directly to the people shaping the environment in which landlords operate. Those informal conversations between sessions can often be just as useful as the presentations themselves.

We will have more than 40 exhibitors showcasing their goods and services, all armed with some of the best freebies on the conference circuit. There is even a bacon roll and a cup of coffee to make up for the early start.

Most importantly, Scottish Letting Day is an opportunity to step away from working alone for a few hours and become part of the wider community upon which our sector depends. It reminds us that, although many landlords run their businesses independently, none of us needs to face every challenge entirely by ourselves.

If you have not yet made plans to attend Scottish Letting Day, I urge you to consider doing so. It is a unique event in the calendar and is always worth attending, no matter what stage your business is at. There is something for everyone to learn and someone for everyone to meet.

Tickets for Scottish Letting Day are available from our website, and we look forward to seeing you at Murrayfield on 4 November.

Article by John Blackwood, chief executive of Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL)