Rent control assessments and periodic reports: guidance for local authorities

Introduction

This guidance is issued in accordance with section 6 (Ministerial guidance on assessments of rent conditions) and section 7 (Ministerial guidance on reports following assessments of rent conditions) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 (“the act”). It is designed to support local authorities in carrying out their statutory duties under Part 1 of the act and sets out how each local authority should approach the periodic assessment of rent conditions, the preparation of reports to the Scottish Ministers, and the development of recommendations on the designation of rent control areas.

The act received Royal Assent on 6 November 2025. Part 1 of the act includes measures to introduce a long term, evidence led system of rent controls for Private Residential Tenancies (PRT) delivering a nationally consistent approach, whilst maintaining the link to local circumstances.

To support delivery, all 32 local authorities are required to carry out mandatory assessments of rent conditions in their area on a five-yearly cyclical basis.

Following this assessment, local authorities must submit a report to the Scottish Ministers detailing the findings of the assessment and setting out whether or not they recommend that the Scottish Ministers designate all or part of the local authority as a rent control area.

The outcome of these assessments will inform the Scottish Ministers’ decisions on whether it is necessary and proportionate to designate rent control areas for the purpose of protecting the social and economic interests of tenants in those areas, and whether rent controls represent a necessary and proportionate control of the use of a landlord’s property.

After considering a report from a local authority, the Scottish Ministers will prepare and publish a report setting out:

i. whether or not they propose to lay regulations designating all or part of the area of the local authority as a rent control area, and

ii. the reasons for their decision.

Before laying regulations to designate a rent control area, the Scottish Ministers are required to carry out a consultation with the local authority within whose area the proposed rent control area is situated and representatives of the interests of tenants and landlords under relevant tenancies of properties in the proposed rent control area.

Following the consultation, if the Scottish Ministers continue to be of the view that a rent control area should be designated, regulations will then be laid in Parliament. The parliamentary process for regulations designating a rent control area can be expected to take around 54 days to complete.

In any area designated for rent control, rent increases will be capped at CPI +1%, up to a maximum of 6%. These restrictions will apply both within and between tenancies, to stabilise the level of rents within the area and avoid the potential for rents to continue to rise more steeply between tenancies.

Not all properties let under a PRT will be subject to rent control. Regulations have been passed which exempt mid-market rent and build-to-rent properties from rent controls. Further information on the regulations can be found within the following link: The Private Housing Rent Control (Exempt Property) (Scotland) Regulations 2026

In addition to this, the act contains powers which allow the Scottish Ministers to set out in regulations the circumstances under which landlords may increase rent above the level of the cap. A consultation on the use of these powers was undertaken in April 2025 and regulations to set out the circumstances are planned in advance of any rent control areas coming into force.

Where a rent control area is designated, it is important for this to be in place no longer than necessary. The act ensures that regulations designating a rent control area will expire after five years, with any further designation being on the basis of further assessment. While a rent control area is in force, the act places a duty on the Scottish Ministers to keep this under review. If the Scottish Ministers consider that the designation of a particular rent control area is no longer necessary or proportionate, the regulations designating that rent control area can be revoked, or the size of the area can be reduced if this is considered appropriate.

The act requires that local authorities must have regard to this guidance when carrying out their assessments and preparing their reports. The act sets out certain matters which must be covered in the reports and assessments, and these are highlighted throughout this guidance.

The guidance is not intended to provide an exhaustive list of the information that may be included within an assessment or report. Local authorities are encouraged to include any other information or evidence they consider relevant to the assessment of rent conditions in their area, or which they consider would assist the Scottish Ministers when reviewing their reports and recommendations.