The Private Housing Rent Control (Exempt Property) (Scotland) Regulations 2026 - equality impact assessment

The Scope of the EQIA

The EQIA considers the impact that the MMR and BtR exemptions to rent control may have in relation to the protected characteristics: age, disability, sex (including pregnancy and maternity), gender reassignment, sexual orientation, race and religion or belief.

Potential impacts have been considered in the context of the public sector equality duty, which requires public bodies to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between different people, when carrying out their activities.

The exemptions were assessed and evidence was gathered from published data, anecdotal evidence and responses to the Housing (Scotland) Bill consultation.

While there are sources of routine data on the composition and characteristics of tenants within the PRS in Scotland, similar information on landlords is not routinely collected. Data on the composition and characteristics of MMR and BtR tenants is less available, especially for Scotland specifically.

Therefore, we do not have evidence to suggest that the exemptions are likely to disproportionately and systematically negatively (or positively) impact those with protected characteristics or those on low incomes. As the intention of the exemption is to support future supply of new rented housing, it may provide benefits to the wider rented sector by reducing pressure on housing availability in the PRS more broadly, depending on the characteristics of the new housing supply provided.

Despite a lack of statistical information, we have used the EQIA to consider how the proposals impact on both landlords and tenants with protected characteristics within the PRS, and this is considered to be largely neutral.