Industry News
- Citylets Quarterly Report
- Housing (Bill) Scotland
- Changes to the Repairing Standard – Housing (Scotland) Act 2006
- Changes to EPC Regulations
- Scottish Government – Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022
- Shared Repairs and the Tenement (Scotland) Act 2004
- Landlords living abroad – NON-UK RESIDENT LANDLORDS
Citylets – Quarterly Report
Citylets most recent quarterly report can be found by clicking on the undernoted link.
This report confirms what Scottish Agents have been experiencing throughout 2023 where the demand for rental properties is heavily outweighing the supply. Properties continue to be snapped up by renters exceptionally quickly even whilst average rents are showing a rapid growth.
https://www.citylets.co.uk/research/reports/
Looking for an instant rental valuation on your property? Click below …..
An overview of the Housing (Scotland) Bill
In March 2024 the Scottish Government introduced new legislation to prevent homelessness and strengthen tenant’s rights.
The Housing (Scotland) Bill will outline proposals for a New Deal for Tenants as well as address various housing issues in Scotland.
The undernoted link provides more information on the current stage of the Bill as well as providing a detailed overview of the Government’s intentions and proposals.
The team at Watt Property continue to attend Conferences and work with our member bodies, such as Scottish Association of Landlords and Propertymark to ensure that we are kept fully up to date with information that will directly affect our landlords and tenants. As a client of our Agency, we aim to keep you up to date with our regular newsletters and social media posts. To be included on our mailing list, please complete the undernoted form with the request to be added to our mailing list for landlords.
https://www.parliament.scot/bills-and-laws/bills/housing-scotland-bill-session-6/overview
Changes to the Repairing Standard – Housing (Scotland) Act 2006
Landlords already have an obligation to meet the Repairing Standard set out in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 and as from March 2024 the standard has been updated to include further landlord obligations.
Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) have put together the undernoted to summarise the updated requirements which came into force in March 2024
- water pipes must be free of lead (where this cannot be ascertained water testing must be carried out to check for the presence of lead piping)
- electrical installations must be protected by a residual current device (RCD)
- properties must have a fixed space heating system (a permanent installation in the property which is plumbed or hard wired and capable of maintaining a temperature of 21⁰C in at least one room and 18⁰C elsewhere, when the outside temperature is minus 1⁰C.)
- installations for fuels other than gas and electricity to be in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order
- any common parts pertaining to the property must be able to be accessed and used safely
- the property must have satisfactory provision for, and safe access to, a food storage area and food preparation space
- where the property is in a tenement, common doors must be secure and fitted with satisfactory emergency exit locks and a secure entry system
Full details of the updated Repairing Standard can be found at the undernoted link.
https://www.gov.scot/publications/repairing-standard-statutory-guidance-landlords/pages/2/
If your property is needing work carried out to meet these new standards, why not contact us to see how we can help you. From our years of working with reliable contractors in the Edinburgh & East Lothian area we are able to help source trades to tackle all your property improvements, no matter how big or small.
Changes to EPC Regulations
Currently all homeowners who rent out or plan to sell their property must obtain an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) prior to marketing. An EPC outlines the energy efficiency of a home with an aim to offer tenants and new homeowners an indication of the likely running costs of the property. The EPC can also provide advice on how to improve the energy efficiency and what measures would be best for that individual home.
As part of The Scottish Government’s aims to eradicate fuel poverty for all domestic properties, and with an aim to meet their targets of Net Zero by 2040, they published a consultation on proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill back in November 2023, seeking views on the introduction of a new Heat in Buildings Standard. This Standard would require homes in the private rented sector across Scotland to meet a minimum standard of energy efficiency before the end of 2028. It also proposes to prohibit the use of polluting heating systems after 2045. The Consultation was open for responses until March 2024 with responses currently being reviewed and analysed.
At Watt Property, we work with our landlords to ensure that their property is as energy efficient as it can be, taking into account the building type and budgets available to the landlords for carrying out recommended improvements. We also work with our tenants to provide them with as much energy savings advice as possible to ensure they are able to keep their running costs to an affordable level for them.
Further details on The Scottish Government’s plans can be found by clicking on the link below;
https://www.gov.scot/policies/energy-efficiency/energy-efficiency-in-homes/
Scottish Government – Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022
The above Act was introduced by the Scottish Government in October 2022 to help tenants effected by the Cost of Living Crisis and provided restrictions on the eviction process within the private and social housing sector, as well as restrictions on mid-tenancy rent increases within the private rented sector.
These restrictions have been updated from 1st April 2024, with the eviction ban being lifted and rent caps being removed.
Further information on these updates can be found at
https://www.gov.scot/publications/cost-of-living-rent-and-eviction/pages/changes-from-1-april-2024/
As part of our property management service, we ensure that all our landlords are kept up to date with the ever-changing legislation, which includes annual rent reviews on existing tenancies, all within the standard management costs.
More information on our property management service can be found below.
Landlords living abroad – NON-UK RESIDENT LANDLORDS
Are you thinking about renting out your property in Scotland whilst living abroad? If the answer is yes, are you aware that you must apply for a Non-UK Tax Code to allow your Letting Agency to remit your full rent balance to you each month?
Landlords receiving a rental income from properties based in Scotland whilst they reside abroad must obtain a Code from the HMRC and provide this to their Letting Agent to allow their agent to remit full rent funds to them. This process can be a very simple one and we recommend that as soon as you have a Non-UK address assigned to you, an application is made to HMRC for your code. The application can be made via the following link and to complete the process your letting agent will require to provide you with their Agency Code to link up to your details.
We are experienced in working with many property owners who live abroad for both our property refurbishment service and tenancy management. Our Letting Agency software provides landlords direct access to their property information, including accounting, outstanding maintenance issues and contractor invoices, making it simple for landlords to keep in touch with us no matter where they are in the world. We can also offer video calls and e-doc signing to ensure that a full service can be provided remotely.
Contact us by completing the form below to find out more about how we can assist you wherever you may be in the world.
