Report urges more support for small-scale landlords in Scotland

A new report on the Scottish private rented sector urges the Scottish government to support smaller private landlords to avoid them selling up.

The report by the UK Collaborative Centre for Housing Evidence (CaCHE) reveals the Scottish private rented sector is dominated by “small-scale, part-time investor landlords”.

A survey by the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) reveals nearly half of landlords (54%) plan to leave the private rented sector due to rent control proposals and hostility towards landlords.

Investment is a key driver for landlords

The CaCHE report shows that investment is becoming a key driver for landlords entering the Scottish private rented sector. The proportion of landlords citing investment as their primary motivation has risen significantly, from 43% in 1997 to 72% in 2023.

The report also reveals that income from being a landlord has become more important, with a higher proportion of landlords now deriving more than 25% of their income from renting properties.

However, the report does emphasise most landlords are not universally wealthy.

The report says: “While landlords are rarely poor in relative terms, neither are they universally wealthy with some landlords earning below £30k (close to the median).”

Introduce a regular national landlord survey

The CaCHE report also calls for the Scottish government to introduce a regular Scottish landlord survey.

The report says the current reliance on consultations from a limited number of interested parties makes it hard to argue that policies are evidence-based

The report says: “This makes it difficult to claim that policy interventions are evidence-based. They therefore risk being ineffective and prone to unintended consequences.”

The report suggests: “The introduction of a regular national landlord survey would not only provide policymakers with an opportunity to gain insights into how policy interventions impact the sector but also to ensure that future policy interventions are evidence-based and contextually appropriate.”

The report adds the Scottish government must focus on supporting small-scale private landlords that make up the majority of the private rented sector to stop them from selling up and causing a reduction in supply.