Letting agencies and other PRS stakeholders north of the border have been urged to write to the Scottish government with formal feedback on the effects of the emergency rent freeze and eviction restriction measures.

Automated rental payment specialists, PayProp UK, is among those calling on private residential landlords and letting agents in Scotland to share their experiences of the recent changes introduced by the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022.

The freeze on rental increases was backdated to begin on 6 September this year and will run until 31 March 2023, but Scottish Ministers have the power to extend the measures until September 2023 or even 31 March 2024. The freeze will apply to private rented and social tenants as well as those living in student accommodation.

Scotland’s First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, made the original announcement as part of a statement on the Programme for Government 2022-3.

She said at the time that the measures were put in place to protect people from the soaring cost-of-living crisis.

Share your experiences

As part of the legislation, the measures must be reviewed every three months in order to check that they are still ‘necessary and proportionate’.

PayProp UK MD, Neil Cobbold, said: “We welcome the Scottish government’s consultation on the impact of the Act on the industry. It is vital that those working in the sector take the opportunity to give their feedback and share their experiences since these measures were put in place. We trust the Scottish government will take note of the evidence provided by us and other stakeholders within the PRS.”

The Scottish Government has called for evidence that can help answer the following questions:

• Have the temporary measures had a direct effect on your planning and/or business model?
• What has been the impact of these temporary measures on the perception of risk associated with involvement in the rental sector in Scotland?
• Do you have any evidence of behavioural changes as a direct result of the temporary measures coming into force?
• Is there any other evidence – qualitative or quantitative – you can provide at this stage of the temporary measures to date?’

Cobbold added: “These measures are temporary but potentially quite lengthy, and they could already be having a radical effect on the entire sector. The industry as a whole needs to act in unison to give the administration the benefit of a clear and well-rounded picture of its effects.”

The closing date for written submission is 4pm on Thursday 8 December. They should be sent in written MS Word or PDF format to housing.legislation@gov.scot.

The first report on the effects of the measures will be presented to the Scottish Parliament no later than 14 January 2023.