Scottish government propose more rent controls in new proposals

Scottish government propose more rent controls in new proposals

0:01 AM, 3rd October 2023, About 8 months ago 18

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Landlords and tenants in Scotland are being urged to have their say in a consultation on a number of proposals including rent controls.

The Scottish government say the proposals aim to improve the way the private rented sector operates.

The consultation is open until the 29th October 2023.

Scottish ministers would have the final say on whether to propose rent controls

The Scottish government recently announced the extension of rent controls until March next year.

In the consultation, the Scottish government say local authorities could carry out an assessment to see whether rent controls are needed.

The proposal says: “The Scottish government propose that local authorities would be required to carry out an assessment of conditions in relation to rent in their area and make a recommendation about whether Scottish Ministers should impose rent controls in all or part of their area.

“There would be a mandatory requirement to re-assess rent conditions on a regular basis.”

The proposal adds: “Scottish Ministers would be the final decision maker about whether to impose rent control, taking account of the outcome of the assessment process.

“The introduction of a rent control area will be made through regulations which would be subject to Parliamentary approval. There would be a statutory requirement to consult the local authority and representatives of landlords and tenants before a rent control area can be introduced.”

Right to keep a pet

In other parts of the consultation, the Scottish government proposes that all tenants have the right to keep a pet.

The Scottish government said: “We want to give tenants in both the private and social rented sectors greater rights to have a pet.

“This would improve the renting experience for private and social housing tenants by giving them more control over having a pet supporting physical and mental health and wellbeing.”

The proposals say private and social tenants would need to make a written request to their landlord to keep a pet.

Landlords would only be able to refuse a request where it was reasonable to do so and would be required to give reasons for any refusal of permission and must respond in 30 working days.

Tick box exercise

John Blackwood, chief executive of the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL), said the SNP and Green party are not interested in talking to landlords.

He said: “The Scottish Government has launched a ‘consultation’ on rented sector reform but fixed the questions to prevent any dissent or variation from pre-determined views.  This engagement questionnaire fails to allow landlords to note their objections to the policies proposed’.”

“Landlords have always sought to have a constructive conversation about solving Scotland’s housing crisis, but the SNP and Greens are clearly not interested in listening to the views of landlords and investors. They are fixed on their ideological view and policies that harm tenants and the whole of Scotland’s housing sector.”

He added: “The SNP and Greens clearly see this as a tick box exercise without allowing respondents to, at the very least, say they do not agree with a particular proposal.  Even with this politicalised process, they have failed to make any meaningful progress towards solving Scotland’s housing crisis preferring to drive landlords and investors out of Scotland and putting people’s homes at risk.”

Landlords in Scotland who would like to fill out the consultation can click here


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Comments

Mr.A

10:11 AM, 4th October 2023, About 8 months ago

Possible now to get 5.5 to 6% on your savings , no problem tenants , no sudden problems, no council clown asking stupid questions with only 2 rentals left I've had no call outs last 2 months , bliss .
money in bank slowly building up ,
Back to the questionnaire.
The 2021 "consultation " only threw up a couple of questions that as a landlord interested me ...rest was about the "right " of everyone to have a safe and affordable home ...go figure.
Surprise Surprise both questions were dropped in going forward to the 2023 draught.
1 . Ending open ended tenancies for prt student let's to make a level playing field with pbsa....
2.incrasing the 28 days notice to at least 6 weeks .
The rest is just anti landlord guff, last straw is LONG TERM RENT CONTROLS.
NO increase allowed in between tenancy to get back to market rent ,
So if your a decent Landlord (most are imo) and you have tried to keep your rents low as possible, you will be stuck at those levels only allowed to increase by their measly low set increase....but not for the pbsa or Social rent sector only for the PRIVATE RENTAL SECTOR...

Monty Bodkin

11:51 AM, 4th October 2023, About 8 months ago

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/discover/property-news/rents-for-new-lets-rise-10-3-per-cent-over-the-last-year/

Scotland is registering the highest level of rental inflation in the UK at 12.8%.

Landlords in Scotland are maximising rents for new tenancies to cover increased costs and allow for the fact that future rent increases will be limited over the life of the tenancy.

Yellard

21:14 PM, 4th October 2023, About 8 months ago

Reply to the comment left by Mr.A at 03/10/2023 - 16:26
I supported the greens for years despite queasines on their economic polcies that exclude climate change.. But their lunacy on the private sector means I now loath them. They can't be so stupid (I have even written to inform them just in case) not to realise their policies are harmful on thr long term to both landlords and tenants.. It's sheer cynicial fascist shorterm popularism on the part of the Greens...

Catherine Bisset

0:00 AM, 5th October 2023, About 8 months ago

Horrendous. They're so simplistic they truly believe all landlords are evil and all tenants are angels. I cannot believe they control every aspect of a flat I bought by saving every penny and I'm a kind landlord with low rent. Well they've stuffed me completely now becuase I can't afford the repayments now. And that consultation was so biased it was laughable. Please fill it in though as best as you can@

Andrew Mcgaulley

13:20 PM, 5th October 2023, About 8 months ago

The Scottish government should realise that tenant will complain about higher rent prices, but they will scream blue murder about being made homeless because of their ridiculous policies.

Arnie Newington

7:21 AM, 7th October 2023, About 8 months ago

It’s the ban on rent increases for new tenancies that concerns me most.
My current rent is about 55% of the market rent as my tenants have been in the property a long time, my mortgage costs were low and I did not foresee them tripling due to interest rate rises or rent control being introduced overnight without consultation.
Now the Scottish Government want me to be stuck losing money forever.
Also if I did advertise my property for let at the current rent I would have an avalanche of enquiries so would waste potential tenants time as well as my own.

Angela Wilcox

8:08 AM, 7th October 2023, About 8 months ago

I am a landlord is Scotland and I made the decision a year ago that I would sell my properties as they became vacant. I only had 4, now 2. Unfortunately, I have one that has had a tenant in for 14 years. He was made redundant prior to Covid, so I held off rent increases as he is a good tenant. We are currently at round £150pcm under the going rate. Over Covid rents were frozen, and have been controlled ever since. Since April were are allowed to raise the rent by 3%, and if we can prove that we have had significant increased costs, we can apply for 6%. I did this as my mortgage had gone up by £200, and was granted an increase of £30.
Sadly I am currently preparing a letter to this tenant to ask him to leave as the property is now financially unviable. My only option under current rules is to sell. I have never asked a tenant to leave and know the impact this will have on him, but at 3% per year, I will never be able to make this property viable again, and my tenant will never move out as the alternative is so much more expensive, and he is very well looked after where he is.
I cannot understand how the powers that be cannot see what damage they are doing to tenants with these ridiculous rules. Even if the looked at the median rent in an area, and allowed increases up to that, it would make it workable.
The government make poor decisions and I am left feeling like a bad person because I have to ask a good tenant of 14 years to leave their home.

Mr.A

14:54 PM, 7th October 2023, About 8 months ago

I always knew since 2017 when the new private rental tenancy was forced on us with the mention of "rent controlled area " that rent controls might come in .
I Kept my rents up to market level but the mortgage rises since January have made the decision to sell for me .
If we are forced into a position to sell or go under we should not feel guilty of saving our selves ,no one else will..
This SNP ,greens coalition haven't got a clue about real world experience, they are just blindly chasing after votes .
The SNP got a bloody nose in the Rutherglen byelection this week ,hopefully they lose enough seats in the general election that the greens can't hold the balance of power in Scotland and become what they really are , irrelevant.
Please vote tactically, remove the SNP .
The greens won't lose any seats because they never won any ...

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