Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee 20 May 2025
Amendment 218 is consequential to amendment 219. Amendment 219 introduces flexibility to adjust rent mid-tenancy in response to significant changes in circumstances. That is particularly relevant in cases in which an employee leaves their job but remains within the property as the tenant or when a successor takes over the tenancy after a death, moving to a market rent from a nominal rent that is linked to employment.
When rent needs to be raised because of circumstances that are considered by ministers to be an emergency, amendment 219 would enable that to be done in an incremental manner, removing the limit on the number of times that rent can be increased.
Amendment 220 is consequential to amendment 214, which was debated previously. It amends proposed new section 43J of the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016 to the same effect, but for tenancies that are situated in a rent control area.
In relation to amendments 138, 161, 162, 201, 202, 294 and 495, rent increase appeal processes must be fair, proportionate, time limited and bound to ensure timely resolutions that provide certainty for landlords and tenants. An open-ended system with no cost to tenants might inadvertently encourage speculative appeals, and that would put strain on adjudication bodies.
08:45On amendments 139 and 140, rent setting is inherently subjective and it reflects the market and what tenants are willing to pay. Therefore, rent officers or tribunals should not be allowed to vary rent determination.
On amendments 496 and 499, the repairing standard clearly establishes that, under the enforcement baseline for property conditions, it is a criminal offence to let a property that fails to meet the standards. The amendments are not only unnecessary but would introduce subjectivity to a well-defined framework.
On amendments 238 and 240, the existing costs of dealing with appeals are already seen as a deterrent against misuse by landlords. Penalties will only have a negative impact on the supply of small landlords by discouraging them from the sector.
I move amendment 218.