New legislation currently under debate in the Scottish Parliament could pave the way for rent controls in designated areas — but housing campaigners argue the proposals fall short of meaningful reform.
The Housing (Scotland) Bill, which is approaching its final stage ahead of a key vote next week, would give local councils the power to cap annual rent increases. Under the proposed rules, rises would be limited to inflation plus one percentage point.
However, concerns have been raised over recent changes to the legislation. Earlier this month, the Scottish Government confirmed that mid-market rent and build-to-rent properties would be exempt from the new caps, citing fears the measures could deter investment and slow new housing development.
Tenant advocacy group Living Rent criticised the decision, accusing ministers of “prioritising landlords” by weakening the scope of the proposed controls.
The Bill is now in its Stage Three proceedings at Holyrood, with MSPs set to examine hundreds of proposed amendments during debates scheduled for today.
The bill was originally published by the Scottish government in March last year, while the Scottish Greens were still in government.
The new Bill proposes long-term rent controls.
Temporary rent control measures were put in place during the pandemic, but those expired in April 2025.
Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, commented: “As the Housing (Scotland) Bill reaches its final stages in the Scottish Parliament before passing into law, MSPs must ensure the legislation is fair for landlords, tenants, and agents, that it drives up standards, and crucially, that it does not reduce the number of much-needed homes to rent in Scotland.
“Setting rent caps at CPI+1% up to 6% in designated rent control areas will support these aims, and ensuring rent data collection is done in a consistent way and the application of rent control areas is applied fairly will help. However, challenges and concerns remain about the application of rent controls between tenancies, and the impact on landlords who make major improvements to the property or have previously kept rents below market value.
“Exemptions are a key part of this, so it’s vital the Scottish government responds to the consultation as soon as possible and sets out a roadmap of measures that support both small and large landlords as well as other housing providers in the sector to maintain property standards, so we have a viable and affordable private rented sector in Scotland.”
