Chamber and committees

Private landlords make a significant contribution to meeting housing need in Scotland. Private landlord registration is a key tool to raise standards of accommodation and management in the private rented sector. Since its introduction, there have been over 259,509 applications for registration (of which 252,463 have been approved) from private landlords which contain details of over 350,000 let properties. This information provides local authorities with data to inform their local housing strategies.

The Landlord registration system has provided local authorities with the regulatory tools to improve standards in the private rented sector; it provides assurance to tenants and enhances the position of good landlords.

The Scottish Government has not had discussions with the Bank of England regarding its assessment of the financial stability risks associated with buy-to-let investors exiting the market and how this might impact on Scotland. The Bank of England has responsibility for financial stability, and publically reports on its assessment through the financial stability report and meetings of its Financial Policy Committee.

Since 2006, £20.7 million has been paid by landlords making online fee payments to local authorities. The Scottish Government does not keep figures for payments made in offline applications or by invoiced payments made directly to local authorities. These fees are retained by local authorities to assist with meeting the cost of the regime. Landlord registration does not receive funding from any other source.

Information on the source data collection methodology for Private Sector Rent Statistics, Scotland 2010 to 2014 is available in Annex C of the statistical publication at: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2014/11/2313.

The Scottish Government collects data on the private rented sector through sources such as the Rent Service Scotland Market Evidence Database, the Scottish Household Survey, and the associated Scottish House Condition Survey module. Information from these sources is published in annual Private Sector Rent Statistics publications:

(http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2014/11/2313), Scottish Household Survey Annual Reports:

(http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/16002/PublicationAnnual), and Scottish House Condition Survey annual Key Findings Reports:

(http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Statistics/SHCS/Downloads). In addition the Scottish Government Quarterly Scottish Housing Market Review:

(http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/supply-demand/chma/statistics) presents a summary of different housing market measures from a variety of data sources.

The impact upon business of the proposed system of local rent controls will be outlined in the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment, which will be published on the Scottish Government’s website the day after the Private Tenancies Bill is introduced to Parliament in October 2015.

The Scottish Government has assessed the impact of local rent controls on the private rented sector in the Private Tenancies Bill Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment, which will be published on the Scottish Government’s website shortly.

Local rent controls formed part of the Scottish Government’s proposals in the Second Consultation on a New Tenancy for the Private Sector and a number of institutional investors commented on the approach outlined. The Private Rented Sector (PRS) Champion and PRS Working Party, which the Scottish Government is part of, have had discussions with a range of interested parties including investors interested in supporting the private rental market in Scotland.

Local rent controls formed part of the Scottish Government’s proposals in the second consultation on a new tenancy for the private sector and sixteen local authorities commented on the approach outlined.

The Scottish Government has not had any discussions with either the German or Swedish governments.