Consultation paper hints at rent controls

A consultation paper issued by the Scottish government suggests it may be considering whether it is feasible to cap rent levels in the country.

The paper, called New Tenancy For The Private Sector, has been written now partly because of the general increase in the private rented sector across Scotland in recent years and partly because of the likely increase in institutional investment - Build To Let - in the future, the government says in a forward to the consultation.

The lengthy document, which has a series of tick boxes to gauge respondents' support or opposition to proposals, suggests tenancies have a minimum six-month duration and ponders whether the period of notice for a tenant should be linked to the duration of the tenancy to date.

It also asks specifically What action, if any, should the Scottish Government take on rent levels in the private rental sector in Scotland

The document also consults on what it calls modernising the reasons that a landlord can use to get back possession of their property and whether there were reasons for tenants to stay in their home at the end of their lease.

If tenants have more security in their tenure, they may feel more confident in asserting their rights and flagging any concerns about their rented property without fear of eviction. In addition to this if tenants know they can only be asked to leave their home on certain specified grounds they will have a greater feeling of security says Scottish housing minister Margaret Burgess.

But equally a new tenancy system provides an opportunity to improve the private rented sector for landlords. We can tackle some of the long-standing issues they face, like problems around recovering the possession of their property and rent arrears. These changes could give landlords more reassurance in the system she suggests.