The Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform)(Scotland) Bill 2022 (the Bill) has made its way through all the required stages of scrutiny by the Criminal Justice Committee, and we now have sight of the Bill in its final form, and as passed.
As suspected, the Bill, in so far as it relates to the Private Rented Sector (PRS), got through pretty much unscathed. As such, the two main changes for the PRS remain and will mean the:
- Loss of all mandatory grounds for possession for Private Residential Tenancies, Assured Tenancies (including Short-assured Tenancies) and Regulated Tenancies; and
- Incorporation of pre-action protocols into the underlying housing legislation as a factor when considering the reasonableness or otherwise of granting an order for eviction or possession based on rent arrears.
The Bill does this by amending the underlying legislation and removing any reference to mandatory grounds from the existing housing legislation. This includes section 33 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 1988 Act which will also remain discretionary for Short-assured Tenancies.
When will these changes come into effect?
The Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform)(Scotland) Bill 2022 is set to take effect as an Act on 1 October 2022, which is the day after the remaining emergency provisions contained in the Coronavirus (Scotland) Acts (Early Expiry of Provisions) Regulations 2022 will cease to apply.
The only changes to the provisions contained in the Bill that were accepted and therefore made during the Bill’s progress at Stage 2, relate only to savings and transitional provisions. These operate to continue application of the emergency rules for notices served prior to 1 October 2022 and in relation to preserving the Rent Arrears Pre-action Requirements (Coronavirus) (Scotland) Regulations 2022 for such notices.
Whilst these are the only changes made to the Bill, in so far as it relates to the PRS, there were other proposals that were not accepted including proposed rent “freezes” for tenants up until 31 December 2024, a limited push back against the complete removal of all of the mandatory grounds as well as a requirement for the Scottish Government to report on the impact of these changes on the PRS. As mentioned, these changes were rejected and therefore do not form part of the Bill.
Enhancing tenant’s rights and a new housing bill: the future for the PRS
In a previous blog we also discussed the Scottish Government’s draft strategy consultation paper called “A New Deal For Tenants”. That consultation closed on 15 April 2022.
This draft strategy sought views on how the Scottish Government can deliver their vision for Housing to 2040 including by way of a new housing bill. At the heart of the strategy is an intention to enhance tenant’s rights further by looking at areas such as:
- Joint tenancies and a tenant’s ability to end or transfer a joint tenancy in the case of domestic abuse.
- A general review of the current grounds of possession.
- The use of unclaimed deposits (£3.5million as at October 2021) to fund tenant support and advice services.
- Limiting a rent officers’ ability to fix rent increases.
- A statutory right for tenants to have pets
- Reform of the eviction process by delaying enforcement and limiting “winter evictions”.
- Changing rules regarding statutory damages for illegal evictions to make it easier for tenants to quantify damages by a simple multiplier of monthly rent of between 6 and 36 months’ rent.
- Introduction of a new housing standard and a move away from the Tolerable Standard to good quality housing being a human right.
- Review of Landlord Registration and Letting Agent Registration to improve management of properties and standards of repair.
Rent controls
Regardless of the Scottish Government’s other plans for the PRS (of which there are many), the main area of interest for the PRS is likely to be the Scottish Government’s commitment to a national system of rent controls by the end of 2025. To be clear, the consultation is not about whether there should be rent controls, but what those rent controls should look like. The plans are also not just focussed on rent increases but are aimed at the initial rent to be charged by landlords to tenants. The consultation was therefore focused on what factors should be looked at when looking at housing affordability, for example size, regional variations and so on. It also looked at how data could be collected, for example by forcing landlords to provide the required information in the context of Landlord Registration with rent penalties if they fail to do so.
The final strategy and further consultations on individual matters such as the new housing standard and even rent controls are expected in due course, and further opportunity will be given to those working and involved in the PRS to comment.
If you require any further information or advice, please contact us.
