Scottish renters challenging rent rises rockets eightfold – Generation Rent

The number of renters challenging rent rises in Scotland when a temporary rent cap was in place rocketed, research reveals.

Tenant campaign group Generation Rent says that the introduction of the cap saw 899 applications to a tribunal being lodged.

Of those, 290 households (32%) had their rent rise capped at the highest allowable rate of 12%.

This marks a big increase from the 106 cases recorded in the year ending September 2022, when open market rents last served as the baseline.

The Scottish government’s decision in April 2024 to limit landlord rent rises to a maximum of 12% was to ease the transition from previous short-term caps under the Cost of Living Act.

However, the measure ended on 31 March, so Rent Service Scotland now uses open market rents as the standard for its decisions.

Challenge a rent rise

The group’s deputy chief executive, Dan Wilson Craw, said: “We know high rents are already pulling many renters in Scotland and their families into poverty.

“The protections over the past few years have been a lifeline and their removal leaves renters up and down the country vulnerable to unaffordable rent hikes that could force them out of their homes.

“We’re very concerned that landlords in Scotland will use the next two years to significantly hike the rent on their tenants before the proposed longer term rent cap becomes law.”

He added: “Renters should be able to challenge a rent increase with the knowledge that they at least can’t make their situation worse.”

Rent challenges in Scotland

Edinburgh North and Leith topped the list of rent challenges with 108 cases, closely followed by Edinburgh South West and Edinburgh South with 78 and 75 cases respectively.

Glasgow South reported the highest number of disputes at 53.

Among areas with at least 10 cases, Glasgow North East showed the greatest percentage of rents restricted to 12% (54%), with Aberdeen South and Motherwell, Wishaw and Carluke not far behind at 53% and 50%.

The Scottish government is pushing ahead with the Scottish Housing Bill to establish a permanent cap, potentially limiting increases to CPI +1%, up to a maximum of 6%.

However, this will not come into force until 2027.

Rent cap ended

Despite warnings from groups like Generation Rent about potential steep rent rises in the interim, the government chose not to extend the previous rent cap.

Now, with Rent Service Scotland basing its decisions on local market rates, Generation Rent says there’s a risk that approved rent rises could surpass even what landlords initially demand.

In response, the Scottish government has unveiled a campaign to educate tenants on their rights to contest rises, but critics say that the threat of steeper increases being imposed by a tribunal might deter rent challenges.

New tool to challenge

To help tenants in Scotland, Generation Rent has introduced a new tool mapping nearly 900 adjudication cases since May 2024, colour-coded by bedroom count.

This should, they claim, help renters gauge potential outcomes and decide whether to dispute their landlord’s proposed rent rise.

The rental market in Scotland saw prices climb nearly 7% in 2024 – the steepest annual increase since 2012.

In Edinburgh, average rents have doubled since 2010 and now account for 43% of a tenant’s income.

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