Rent increases after 31 March 2024

The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) Scotland Act 2022, which introduced rent increase caps and the eviction moratorium, will end on 31 March 2024.

SAL has been involved in discussions with the government about their plans for rent increases after March. The government’s current proposal is that from 1 April 2024 landlords could issue a rent increase notice for any amount. The tenant could then, if they wished, refer it to the rent officer for adjudication. The rent officer would be able to restrict the rent increase through a tapering mechanism. The larger the difference between the current rent and the open market rent, the larger the increase which would be permitted by the rent officer subject to a maximum figure yet to be announced (but likely to be in the region of 10-15%).

The government is running a stakeholder consultation on these proposals to which SAL will submit a response on behalf of members.

These proposals are still under consideration and SAL will notify members as soon as a firm announcement is made about rent increase procedures from 1 April. Rent increase notices issued before 1 April are still subject to a 3% cap, even if the increase doesn’t come into force until after that date.

Assured or short assured tenancies which contain a rent increase clause in the contract terms are exempt from the current rent cap and are also expected to be exempt from the proposals set out above. For further guidance on rent increases see our factsheet here.

Please note you will need to be logged onto the SAL website as a member to download the factsheet.

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