Changes to Housing Legislation in Scotland

The Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 and the UK Government’s Renters’ Rights Act make several important changes you need to be aware of. Working with the UK and Welsh Governments, the Scottish Government is ensuring that provisions related to discrimination within the rental market are applied to Scotland, as well as England and Wales.

This legislation will make it a criminal offence in Scotland for landlords, and those acting on their behalf, to discriminate against those in receipt of benefits or who have, or are likely to have, children staying with them. It addresses terms in insurance contracts or standard securities (mortgages) that may prohibit a landlord from renting to those in receipt of benefits or with children.

Landlords will still be able to take a person’s income into account when considering whether they’d be able to afford rent under a private residential tenancy.

This legislation will come into effect on 1 May 2026 in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has published guidance to this legislation here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/rental-discrimination-guidance-for-scotland/

Other changes will come into force in phases

1 April 2026

  • Data Collection Power – Local Authorities & Scottish Ministers can ask for information on the level of rent from landlords

6 October 2026

  •  Awaab’s Law – New legal duties for landlords to investigate and repair damp and mould hazards, ensuring the health and safety of the tenant within specific timescales

  • Succession of a tenancy – The time a qualifying person needs to have lived in a private residential tenancy to succeed to a tenancy on the death of the tenant will reduce from 12 to 6 months

  • Wrongful termination payments - The amount the First-tier Tribunal can award a tenant when their tenancy has been wrongfully terminated increases to between 3 and 36 months’ rent

1 April 2027

  • Rent adjudication – Timescale for a tenant to apply for a review of a proposed rent increase extends to 30 days, and the amount of rent determined by the Rent Officer or Tribunal cannot exceed what the landlord has requested

  • Ending a joint tenancy – An additional way for a joint tenant to end a private residential tenancy for all tenants comes into force

Information about all these changes, along with other measures introduced in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025, will be available at: Private renting - gov.scot