Cabinet Secretary announcement on rent controls

With the Scottish Parliament due to carry out its final debate and vote on the Housing (Scotland) Bill later this month, SAL has received a very welcome and positive communication from the Cabinet Secretary for Housing in which she states that she is minded to explore the possibility of regulations that would allow for above-cap rent increases where landlords have kept their rent consistently below market rent or where there has been investment in improvements to the quality of the property.

This is something that SAL has lobbied for extensively over the last 18 months and it is a very heartening development in the lead up to our annual Scottish Letting Day conference.

Building on the promise made by the former Housing Minister, Paul McLennan MSP, the Scottish Government has begun to ‘reset’ the relationship with private landlords and listened to our concerns. A recent meeting between our chief executive and the Cabinet Secretary was very positive, with Ms McAllan understanding the need to encourage investment in private renting and the desire to balance the rights of landlords and tenants. This news will be well received by the sector and might well be the sign of a turning tide in the Scottish Government’s view on private renting.

The current wording of the Bill allows the government to designate areas as rent control areas (RCAs) within which rent increases would be capped at CPI + 1% (up to a maximum increase of 6%). The first RCAs could be designated in 2027 and designations will be based on assessments of rent conditions carried out by local authorities. The Bill allows the government to regulate to exempt some properties from rent control and allow above-cap increases on other properties and it is likely that these regulations will be published and approved by parliament during 2026.

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