Scottish Rent Caps Ending: Key Changes for Private Tenants
The Scottish Government introduced temporary legislation in 2022 to regulate private rents to help households cope with the cost-of-living crisis.
Currently, rent increases are capped at a maximum of 12%. This cap is enforced through the rent adjudication system which is managed by Rent Service Scotland (RSS).
Tenants can apply to RSS, with details of their rent increase and details of their property. RSS then determines rent based on a calculation called the taper formula. The taper formula can also set rents below 12%, if the market rate of similar properties in your area is lower.
The current system also allows tenants to challenge rent increases without risk, as RSS cannot set your rent to be higher than what was originally proposed in your rent increase notice.
These temporary measures will be ending on the 1st April 2025, so what does this mean for tenants?
What will be different?
From 1st April, there will no longer be a maximum cap.
This means that landlords can increase rent at any price.
Tenants can still challenge rent increases if they are unreasonable, but this will be riskier.
From April 1st, RSS will determine rent according to the open market rate, which can be higher than what is proposed in your rent increase notice.
Note: You can only receive one rent increase in any 12-month period, this will not change with the ending of the rent caps. The only exception to this is if you have a joint tenancy and there is a change of tenant, which breaks the tenancy and starts a new one.
If you receive a rent increase notice before April 1st 2025, you can still challenge it with Rent Service Scotland and benefit from the current protections.
You will be guaranteed that:
- Your rent will not increase any more than a maximum of 12%, and it can even be set to a lower amount (if rents in your area are lower than what your landlord has proposed).
- Your rent will not be any higher than what was proposed in your rent increase notice, so there is no risk in challenging it.
To challenge your rent increase, fill out the online form on Rent Service Scotland’s website (this must be done within 21 days of receiving a rent increase notice): Challenge a rent increase for a private residential tenancy – mygov.scot
You can find more information about challenging your rent increase under the current system here: Rent Increase in Scotland – Citizens Rights Project
If you receive a rent increase notice after April 1st 2025, you can still challenge it within 21 days, using the same adjudication system.
However, we would advise being more cautious as RSS can set rents which are higher than what is proposed in a rent increase notice.
Some things you can do before deciding whether to challenge your rent increase:
1. Check the cost of new tenancies in your area
How much are other properties in your area, that have the same number of bedrooms? You can use websites like Right Move, Zoopla, CityLets etc to find the current market rate. If these are lower than what has been proposed in your rent increase notice, there is more chance that RSS will determine your rent to be lower than what is proposed in your rent increase notice.
Save as many links for these advertisements as possible, as they can be shown to RSS in your application.
2. Try to negotiate with your landlord / letting agency
You can try to speak to your landlord/letting agency about your rent increase. You can tell them that the increase is unreasonable and provide a counter-offer which would be more manageable for you.
Make sure that if you reach an agreement about a lower rent increase, that this is confirmed in writing. Whether or not an agreement is reached, the 21 day limit applies from the day that you received your notice, so make sure that you leave enough time to challenge it formally if you wish to do so.
If you decide to challenge a rent increase after April 1st make sure that you:
- Include information about any outstanding repairs / issues with your property in the additional comments section of your RSS application. You can also ask that RSS attend a visit at your property to help with the determination.
- Take screenshots and save as many links as possible, if you find adverts for properties in your area that are lower than the rent proposed in your notice. You can use these if you need to appeal the determination made by RSS on your rent.
To challenge your rent increase, fill out the online form on Rent Service Scotland’s website (this must be done within 21 days of receiving a rent increase notice): Challenge a rent increase for a private residential tenancy – mygov.scot