Meeting of the Parliament 08 March 2023
As the whole Parliament is well aware, we introduced the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022 to do three things: to protect tenants through stabilising their housing costs by freezing rents; to reduce the impact of eviction and homelessness through introduction of a moratorium on enforcement of evictions; and to avoid evictions from the rented sector by landlords wanting to raise rents between tenancies during the temporary measures, and reduce unlawful evictions.
Since then, the 2022 act has provided important additional protection for tenants across the rented sector, as we continue to live through challenging and uncertain economic times. Our updated data and economic analysis—which we published at the start of this year—shows that the unprecedented economic position has not yet fundamentally changed, and that many households in the private rented sector, in particular, continue to struggle.
It is for that reason that the regulations that are before the Parliament today seek to extend the rent cap measures for the private rented sector, and the eviction moratorium provisions, across all rented sectors that are covered by the 2022 act, and to extend other important provisions in the act for a further six-month period to 30 September.