News archives
Covid-19 current information
The SAL team is working to represent our members’ views and assist where needed, with the many devastating health, social, personal and economic effects of the current Covid-19 crisis. We are here to provide the most up to date information and guidance for our...
Fair Rents Bill – call for views
As we reported back in June, Scottish Labour MSP Pauline McNeill (pictured) has published a Member’s Bill in the Scottish Parliament to place a blanket restriction on mid-tenancy rent increases for Private Residential Tenancies (PRTs). The bill wording can be read...
Upper Tribunal rules on long standing dispute over tenancy status
A dispute between a tenant and her landlords over the status of her tenancy has been successfully appealed by the tenant at the Upper Tribunal. In an earlier decision, summarised here, the Upper Tribunal took the view that the tenancy was not a private residential...
Covid-19 coronavirus crisis – tenant help
Members are getting in touch with some highly distressing financial and business issues. The vast majority of households in the UK will suffer financial losses as a result of the virus, and some will be left with little or no income at all. Under the terms of the...
Consultation on regulation of short-term/holiday lets
The Scottish Government announced earlier this year that it was going to introduce regulation of short-term/holiday lets. It has now launched a consultation to gather final views on proposed new legislation for the regulation of the sector. The Scottish Government’s...
Rent arrears fear for landlords despite pandemic discounts
Scotland’s largest landlord membership organisation has warned that despite almost half of landlords offering discounts to tenants affected by Covid-19, arrears are continuing to rise and could reach unsustainable levels unless government takes action to help tenants...
Eviction ban extension simply pushes a critical problem into the future
SAL was dismayed to hear yesterday’s announcement by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon that her government intends to extend the country’s evictions ban by six months to the end of March 2021. Chief executive, John Blackwood says that although many campaigning groups...
Letting agent registration update
Since the introduction of letting agent registration in 2018, the Scottish Government has received 1038 applications to join the letting agent register. 939 of these have been approved so far, and 43 have been withdrawn by the agent. There have been 14 refusals so far...
Making tax digital: new dates announced
Under new HMRC rules, landlords with a turnover above £10,000, will have to keep financial records digitally using specialist software and send HMRC quarterly updates on their tax affairs from April 2023. This is under reforms to tax return requirements termed “Making...
Report on Letting Agent Enforcement Orders
Since January 2018 letting agents in Scotland have been required to comply with a statutory code of practice. Landlords and tenants who believe an agency they’ve used has failed to adhere to the code can make an application to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland...