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Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee 10 February 2016

10 Feb 2016 · S4 · Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee

Item of business

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 2

Burgess, Margaret SNP Cunninghame South Watch on SPTV

Amendment 24 will join up the process of a tenant applying for a written tenancy agreement with the process of applying for an order for payment against the landlord to ensure that a tenant does not go away with a financial award but still without any written terms for his or her tenancy. Section 14 enables a tenant to apply to the tribunal to make an order against a landlord who has failed to provide the tenant with the necessary tenancy information, including written terms of the tenancy, which are required under section 8. An order can require the landlord to pay the tenant up to a maximum of three months’ rent. Amendment 24 will ensure that where the terms of the tenancy are not set out in writing between the parties, an application for a payment order under section 14 can be made only in conjunction with an application to the tribunal to draw up written terms under section 12. 10:00 On amendment 56, where a tenant disputes a landlord’s proposed rent increase, the bill provides for how the rent officer or the tribunal is to calculate the open-market rent of the property. The provisions state that that should include an assumption that the property is being let by a willing landlord. The law assumes that a willing tenant is implied in any calculation of open-market rent. However, for the avoidance of any doubt, amendment 56 states explicitly that there is also an assumption that the property is being let to a willing tenant. That is something that the Law Society of Scotland called for as part of its stage 1 evidence to the committee. On amendments 139 and 140, section 61 sets out definitions for a number of terms that are used throughout the bill and includes, among other things, a definition of “rent”. Amendment 139 confirms that “rent” means any sums paid periodically by the tenant to the landlord, rather than one-off payments. Amendment 140 clarifies that rent includes sums payable in respect of services, repairs, maintenance or insurance. Such payments are included to ensure that sums cannot be charged that fall outwith the definition of rent in a way that would undermine the protections that we are introducing in relation to rent increases. On amendment 141, the bill contains amendments to other acts that refer to the day that section 1 comes into force. For now, that is unavoidable because the actual date of section 1’s coming into force is to be set later by regulations. Those amendments in their present form will put those reading the amended acts to the trouble of having to find the commencement regulations to see on what day section 1 was actually brought into force. To make life easier for those looking at the amended acts online or in updated print versions, amendment 141 will allow regulations to insert the actual date that section 1 comes into force. Similarly, amendment 141 will allow regulations to remove section 6(5), with effect from the day that section 1 comes into force because on that day section 6(5), which applies only before section 1 comes into force, will become irrelevant. Amendments 21 to 23, 25 to 29, 42, 83, 129 and 134 will fix minor drafting points. I move amendment 21. Amendment 21 agreed to. Section 12, as amended, agreed to. Section 13 agreed to. Section 14—First-tier Tribunal’s power to sanction failure to provide information Amendments 22 to 25 moved—Margaret Burgess—and agreed to. Section 14, as amended, agreed to. Section 15—Meaning of notice period in sections 12 and 14 Amendments 26 to 29 moved—Margaret Burgess—and agreed to. Section 15, as amended, agreed to. Section 16 agreed to. Section 17—Frequency with which rent may be increased

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Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee 10 February 2016

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