Stakeholders in the Private Rented and Build to Rent (BTR) sectors are invited to submit written submissions to the Scottish Government by Thursday 8th December. Submissions should be sent in MS Word or PDF format to housing.legislation@gov.scot
Given the severe impact that the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 has had on investment into the rental sector in Scotland, it is imperative that those affected, in both the private and public sectors, take this opportunity to express their views. The industry wants the Scottish Government to consult – and this is the opportunity to be heard.
Background
The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 (“the Act”) came into force on 28 October 2022 as a response to the ongoing emergency situation caused by the impact of the cost crisis on those living in the rented sector in Scotland. The legislation introduced a temporary, variable rent cap, set at 0% until 31st March 2023.
As this is emergency legislation, “aimed at helping people living in the rented sector for a temporary period during unprecedented economic challenges”, Section 9 of the Act sets out statutory reporting requirements for Scottish Ministers. This means that every three months, Scottish Ministers must review and report on the need for the provisions in the Act to either be continued or to expire, where appropriate, based on the evidence available at the time.
First report due in January
The first report, covering the period 28th October to 31st December 2022, will be laid before Parliament no later than 14th January 2023. To help inform this important work, the Scottish Government are seeking written evidence on the impact of the measures, since they came into force, on private landlords and those involved in the provision of private rental accommodation.
Questions to consider
Examples of the type of questions the Scottish Government is asking stakeholders to consider, are:
- Have the temporary measures had a direct effect on your planning and/or business models?
- What has been the impact of these temporary measures on your perception of risk associated with involvement in the rental sector in Scotland?
- Do you have evidence of behavioural changes as a direct result of the temporary measures coming into force?
- Is there any other evidence (qualitative or quantitative) you can provide at this stage about the impact of the temporary measures to date?
In order to meet the statutory requirements to consult as set out in Section 9 of the Act, we understand that the Scottish Government will publish details of all organisations consulted as part of the reporting process.
Please do speak up.
A full listing of Scotland BTR and an interactive map of BTR schemes can be viewed here.
