News archives
Press myth-busting
We often get calls from members who’ve read about new legislation in the press and believe it applies to the properties they rent out in Scotland. Scottish housing legislation is devolved so a lot of what appears in the UK national press doesn’t apply in...
Scottish draft budget
On 12 December Scotland’s finance secretary Derek MacKay set out details of the Scottish draft budget announcing plans to introduce yet another deterrent to landlords wishing to enter or invest in the private rented sector, with an increase in the Land & Buildings...
Changes to the Repairing Standard
The government announced last year that following a consultation in the spring of 2017 it would be making changes to the Repairing Standard. This is the standard of repair that all properties in the private rented sector must adhere to. The government has now laid...
In the media – 7 December
Landlords in the media and articles of interest: Mentions: Scotsman: John Blackwood: Private landlords have vital role in future housing provision – 6 December Articles: Herald: Ten thousand Scots ‘face Christmas without vital cash due to Universal Credit...
One year on: PRT myth-busting
One year today the new Private Residential Tenancy regime was introduced. To mark this milestone we thought we would try to dispel some of the common myths we hear about how the regime operates. We know from calls to our telephone helpline that the most common...
Letting agents: Let your landlords and tenants know about the code
One of the requirements of the letting agent code of practice is to let your landlords and tenants know about the code. This requirement is set out in clause 110 and applies to existing as well as new customers. It is really important to do this now if you haven’t...
Update on changes to smoke and heat detector requirements
As we reported earlier this year, the housing minister has agreed to allow long life sealed unit battery smoke/heat detectors in place of mains powered ones in all tenures, which will significantly reduce the cost and difficulty of fitting detectors. Many members have...
Enforcement via sheriff officers
New to our website resources this month is a guide, produced by Stirling Park sheriff officers, which summarises the enforcement options available to a landlord where a ‘Payment Order’ has been obtained from the First-tier Tribunal. The guide can be found here....
Update on Universal Credit
The roll out of Universal Credit (UC) to all job centres throughout the UK will be completed by the end of this year. This roll out only affects new claimants and those with a change in circumstances e.g. a change of address. Migration of existing claimants onto UC...
In the media – 16 November
Landlords in the media and articles of interest. Mentions: Scottish Housing News: Scottish landlords welcome political support for stronger enforcement – 13 November Housing Maintenance: Scottish Landlords welcome political support for stronger enforcement – 13...