How can Propertymark help Scottish property agents?
Property professional body Propertymark’s membership numbers for Scotland are 6 per cent higher now than they were one year ago. In February 2024, the figure stood at 714, and as of February 2025, that number jumped to 759.
With property agents in Scotland experiencing an increase in legislation, it is becoming increasingly relevant for letting agents to become members of a professional body like Propertymark that can help maintain an oversight of the knowledge, skills and practice needed to succeed in the property industry.
Timothy Douglas
For example, the Scottish Government introduced the Level 6 Award in Residential Letting and Property Management (Scotland), in line with their own mandatory expectations for letting agents such as the Letting Agent Code of Practice (Scotland). To guarantee that letting agents are providing outstanding service and advice, Propertymark gives training and qualifications to its members who are letting agents. This also improves a letting agent’s reputation and credibility at a time when they are using advertising and social media to their advantage to promote their stance.
There are also numerous pieces of legislation being passed through the Scottish Parliament that can make operating as a letting agent all the more challenging. These include rent control measures from the Housing (Scotland) Bill and more thorough energy efficiency measures, alongside continuous market issues like limited housing stock.
On 26 March 2024, the Housing (Scotland) Bill was introduced and will request that local councils study rent levels in their jurisdictions approximately once every five years and will give powers to Scottish Ministers to implement rent controls and introduce restrictions on rent increases.
The legislation has reached Stage 2 of the legislative process in the Scottish Parliament, which proceeds Stage 3 and then Royal Assent, by which it will then become an Act of Parliament.
To represent Propertymark’s members and its policy positions in Scotland, Timothy Douglas, Propertymark’s Head of Policy and Campaigns, gave evidence on the Housing (Scotland) Bill to the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee of the Scottish Government on 28 January 2025. He informed the Committee that the Bill fails to address the housing shortage Scotland faces and the lack of incentives to attract more investment in the private rental sector and instead focuses on rent controls.
According to Mr Douglas, there was also a lack of comprehension from Scottish Ministers about the effect taxes and regulations are having on landlords, and he instead recommended an evidence-based comprehension that these costs have on landlords.
Finally, he specified that there should be an annual parliamentary update on the private rented sector and said that there is currently no statutory reporting on the information local councils provide the Scottish Parliament.
Propertymark offers numerous resources to assist letting agents with operating effectively and to comply with Scottish laws, all while letting agents continue to lead an outstanding team. The added benefit of membership is that members are updated on legal changes, and they have access to legal and technical helplines to advise them on complex matters.
Nathan Emerson, CEO at Propertymark, said:
“The number of Propertymark members increasing throughout the year in Scotland shows the increasing importance to ensure that members’ voices are heard throughout the legislative process in Scotland, and in providing agents with the knowledge they need to navigate through the complex regulatory and legal changes that impact the property industry. Because of these changes, it is becoming increasingly relevant for letting agents to become Propertymark members.”
Members can be assisted with compliance and operational efficiency via templates, guides, toolkits like tenancy agreements and deposit management. To find out more about how to join Propertymark and its membership benefits, visit: Become a member | Propertymark.
Company Advantage allows members to save money while delivering on their strengths. It is due to be launched in response to member demand. It provides cutting-edge advantages to support and protect businesses and help agents save time and money, generate income via collaboration throughout the professional network. This includes professional indemnity insurance, anti-money laundering checks, and a new platform called Connect that offers agents a very flexible approach towards generating leads. To find out more, visit: Company Advantage | Propertymark
