Yesterday, Patrick Harvie MSP, minister for zero carbon buildings, active travel and tenants' rights in the Scottish Government, provided an update to the Scottish Parliament on the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act.
This was in line with the statutory reporting requirements contained within the Act, which requires the Scottish Government to review and report to the Scottish Parliament every three months on the need for the provisions to either be continued or to expire. The first report was published yesterday, containing details of the review and the consultation exercise which took place with various stakeholders including landlords and investors. You can view the full report here.
As a piece of emergency legislation that was fast-tracked through the Scottish Parliament as a temporary measure to try to support tenants during the cost-of-living crisis, the Act’s provisions are set to expire on 31 March 2023. However, the legislation does include the option to extend the measures for two further six-month periods – until 30 September 2023 or 31 March 2024 – with the consent of the Scottish Parliament.
The minister provided some firm updates around what would happen after March 2023 and spoke about what the Scottish Government currently anticipates with regards to other aspects of the Act.
Moratorium on evictions
Harvie said that it would “appear crucial” that the moratorium on evictions in both social and private rented sectors continues.
Social housing
Due to voluntary agreements with social housing providers around rent increases from April 2023, legislation will be brought forward to expire social rented sector cap provisions from March 2023.
Private rental sector
It is clear that Harvie’s view is it is “necessary and proportionate” to extend the rent cap provisions beyond 31 March.
The government does recognise that the Act gives the power to vary the level of the cap and to vary the landlord safeguards in relation to the property cost provisions. While this could mean the cap will be raised from zero, the fact that it is likely to remain in place and with no detail on the level of the new cap, the report has been met with disappointment from the industry.
Given that feedback from those working in the private rental sector, provided during the consultation, showed concern that the provisions are stifling investment and pushing up rents in new leases, many will be concerned to read that the report states that the Scottish Government, having reviewed the evidence and response from consultees, considers the rent cap provisions to remain “necessary and proportionate” in connection with the cost of living.
Student accommodation
The rent cap in this sector being considered in light of evidence that it is having a very limited impact due to the different way tenancies are managed. The minister said that he hoped to set out the government’s intentions on this “very soon”.
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