Landlords have teamed up with estate agents and other property professionals to take the first step towards challenging a freeze on rent increases and evictions in Scotland.
A coalition, comprising the Scottish Association of Landlords, the National Residential Landlords Association, Propertymark and Scottish Land and Estates, is taking legal advice on possible action against the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) Scotland Bill. This was rushed through Holyrood, gaining parliamentary approval on 6 October. It is intended to be in place until at least March 2023.
The PRS coalition has instructed former Advocate General for Scotland, Neil Forbes Davidson, to give an opinion on whether or not the legislation breaches the individual rights of landlords in Scotland, including those set out in the European Convention on Human Rights.
If Lord Davidson’s opinion suggests there has indeed been a breach of landlords’ rights, ‘all options’ will be considered.
‘Seeking a legal opinion has been our last resort because our concerns are not being listened to by the Scottish Government’, said SAL chief executive John Blackwood.
‘This emergency legislation is high-minded in spirit but lacking in the kind of detail landlords need assurance about. Uncertainty for landlords only creates ambiguity for tenants, and I do not think the Government appreciates the level of confusion it has now created.
‘This is a tough time, but that does not excuse ill-designed legislation that may be the final straw for the PRS sector. We are gravely concerned that in a bid to do something to help tenants, the Scottish Government has forgotten the underlying stresses in the PRS sector that we have been warning about for years’.
Propertymark said it has ‘serious concerns’ over the lack of evidence and rushed consultation that were a feature of legislation that will have a significant impact the use and ownership of property in Scotland. ‘Landlords and agents alike have proven their ability over the pandemic to work with tenants, many landlords have kept their rents lower in a bid to help, but it must be acknowledged that their costs are rising too. This legislation is huge for the sector and the impact on those providing much needed homes must not be underestimated’.
