Tenancy reform

There is much in the news this week about the UK government publishing draft legislation, the Renters’ Rights Bill, to end “no-fault” evictions, give tenants the right to have a pet, ban rental bidding wars, require repairs to be carried out within a specified timeframe and end blanket bans on renting to tenants with children or those on benefits.

As housing legislation is devolved, this legislation will not apply in Scotland, with one exception detailed below. In Scotland “no-fault” evictions were ended for new tenancies back in 2017. The Scottish Government is already in the process of bringing in its own legislation to amend tenants’ rights, including preventing landlords unreasonably refusing tenants permission to have a pet, through its Housing (Scotland) Bill.

The one aspect of the Renters’ Rights Bill which does apply to Scotland (as well as to England and Wales), is a provision making it unlawful for landlords and letting agents to engage in discriminatory conduct against tenants with children or who receive benefits. This will include both overt discriminatory practices such as “No DSS” adverts, and situations where landlords or letting agents use other indirect practices in order to prevent someone entering into a tenancy, such as requiring higher deposits or sums of rent in advance that are not otherwise applied to tenants without children or in receipt of benefits. Landlords can continue to consider a prospective tenant’s income when assessing the affordability of a tenancy without breaching any rental discrimination prohibitions. The Bill also renders of no effect any term in an insurance policy or mortgage/standard security policy which prohibit or restrict the occupation of the dwelling by a child or which would prohibit occupation by a benefits claimant.

We will keep members updated with the progress of this aspect of the Bill.

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