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Propertymark is a member of the Scottish Government’s PRS Stakeholder Engagement Group and engages with Ministers, Officials and other groups to provide feedback on behalf of members as well as support implementation and the creation of guidance. We continue to closely monitor and support commencement orders and draft regulations as they are published and provide updated resources and support to members as the Act is implemented..
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Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 Toolkit
The toolkit breaks down the Act and its implementation, including guidance, fact sheets, timelines, and resources to help you prepare for the changes.
1 April 2026 changes to the letting agent register
The Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 makes a number of changes to the letting agent register to improve transparency and strengthen oversight.
Immediate changes letting agents must make
- Review business ownership structures and identify anyone who owns 25% or more of the company, partnership, or body, as they will have to provide details upon registration.
- Make sure this ownership information is ready to be included in any new application or renewal.
- Check that all details currently held on the letting agent register are accurate and up to date.
- Include your letting agent registration number on social media posts, digital adverts, property portal listings, email marketing, and website content where properties or letting services are being advertised, to reflect the requirement to display it in property advertisements and communications.
- Put internal processes in place so any future prescribed information can be updated promptly.
- Be aware that a refusal or removal from the register will now remain visible for three years, instead of 12 months.
- Understand that Scottish Ministers have updated powers to request information and inspect records as part of register oversight.
Representing members
Throughout the passage of the legislation Propertymark gave evidence to the Scottish Parliament twice, met with Scottish Government officials and MSPs to raise issues, lobby for changes and drafted amendments that were tabled. We also held meetings with other sector organisations and working groups with members as well as our Regional Executives in Scotland to support the evidence base for the changes we wanted to see.
Evidence sessions
Policy work leading up to the legislation through the New Deal for Tenants talked about affordable rents, supply of rented homes and quality raising standards, but the legislation does very little to increase the supply of private rented homes and only offers rent control as the solution to improve affordability for renters.
That is why it is positive that policy makers understood our concerns and where rent controls are introduced in designated areas annual rent increases will be capped at the Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus 1%, with a maximum annual increase of 6%.
Furthermore, exemptions for build to rent are welcome and it is encouraging that the Cabinet Secretary has committed to explore the possibility of regulations that would allow for rent increases in rent control areas where the rent has been held consistently below market rent or where there has been investment in improvements to the quality of the rented property.
We are also pleased that Scottish Ministers must conduct an impact assessment on the provisions of the Act on rural and island communities.
Consultation responses
Exemptions regime must be balanced and incentivise upgrades
Propertymark has responded to the Scottish Government’s consultation on how powers in the Housing (Scotland) Bill could be used to exempt properties from rent control, allow rents to rise above the cap in certain circumstances, and change the way joint tenancies are ended.
Strong message delivered on rental reform proposals
Propertymark continues to assert there is no advantage to introducing rent controls and urges Scottish Ministers to properly evaluate the evidence both from UK and across the world. Whilst formulating our response to the most recent engagement questionnaire we hosted a roundtable with members and Scottish Government officials where the strength of feeling from agents was clearly communicated.
Whilst we don’t agree with rent control, we are pleased that the Scottish Government listened to our concerns and amended the legislation so where rent controls are introduced in designated areas annual rent increases will be capped at the Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus 1%, with a maximum annual increase of 6%.
We continue to make the case for a fairer tax regime for private landlords with the Scottish Government currently reviewing elements of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax as well as a level playing field for landlords against institutional investors. To this end, it is positive that the Cabinet Secretary has committed to explore the possibility of regulations that would allow for rent increases in rent control areas where the rent has been held consistently below market rent or where there has been investment in improvements to the quality of the rented property.
