The Rettie Blog

Existing owners, who through a change in personal circumstances are renting their properties in today’s market, seem very comfortable with the new rent controls. For these circumstantial landlords, the prospect of 6% annual rent increases has been widely accepted as very reasonable and agreeable.

Property management is nuanced. No two properties are the same, and when you add in landlords, tenants, contractors and the neighbours, there are many variables and complex relationships to manage.

From Spring 2023 through to Autumn, demand for rental properties across Edinburgh and Glasgow far exceeded supply, leading to steep competition between tenants and double digit rent inflation. With the 3% rent cap remaining, combined with the rise in interest rates, landlords with vacant properties increased their rents more than in previous years.

Demand for rental properties across most levels in the market has been strong from the start of Q1 2023 and increased through Q2 & Q3. During the summer months, demand for affordable accommodation (£1000pcm - £1500pcm in Edinburgh & £800 - £1,200 in Glasgow), rose to almost unmanageable levels.

Background – A New Deal for Tenants … The Government are moving forward with rent control proposals, this includes controlling rents in between tenancies so properties will never be able to revert to the market rate.

The Edinburgh housing market is witnessing unprecedented levels of demand for rental accommodation and, most worryingly, an unprecedented shortage of supply.

Void periods kill rental yields, so if you are thinking of putting your property on the market for let, here's a short list of the top six key tasks to undertake to ensure you receive rent as quickly as possible.

Rettie has appointed Rob Trotter as Director of New Business for Lettings, joining from DJ Alexander where he spent nearly two decades, most recently as Director of New Business (Scotland), as we look to significantly increase our lettings activity over the next few years. Rettie currently manages over 2,000 rental properties.

Today, 1st June 2023, Tenants' Rights Minister, Patrick Harvie, has confirmed proposals to keep the Cost of Living (Tenants Protection) Act measures in place until March 2024. This means the current rent cap will be extended for a final 6 months until March 2024.

Following on from last week's report to the Scottish Parliament regarding The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022, Rettie wants to assure our clients that our experienced team is prepared for all eventualities and that we are here to help with any enquiries you may have.

On Wednesday 16th November 2022, Rettie hosted a Live Webinar via Microsoft Teams, regarding the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Bill Update. The Webinar covers the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Bill, what it is, what are the changes, and how these will affect you.

Webinar Coming Soon (November 2022) Recently the Scottish Government had issued a rent freeze and no winter evictions effective from 6 September 2022. We now have more details to furnish you with, and have laid this out below with what we feel are the questions you will be seeking answers to.