Consumer Scotland Briefing - Housing (Scotland) Bill - Stage 3

This briefing considers how the Housing Bill can be strengthened to promote better consumer outcomes during Stage 3, in advance of the debate. Consumer Scotland is the statutory body for consumers in Scotland. Established by the Consumer Scotland Act 2020, we are accountable to the Scottish Parliament. We have previously responded to the call for evidence and the consultation on the use of powers in the Bill, and have also engaged directly with the Scottish Government on these issues.

Alongside this advocacy work, Consumer Scotland has conducted qualitative research into the experience of private tenants facing tenancy issues, for publication in autumn 2025. We are also doing quantitative research into the experiences of 1,400 tenants in the social rented sector on a range of issues, and plan to publish findings in winter 2025/26.

Consumer Scotland generally supports the Bill, however the interests of tenants could be strengthened by measures: 

• Committing the Scottish Government to formally review eviction grounds, property factoring arrangements, and the operation of rent controls within 2 years of the Bill’s passage.
• Extending the scope of the Scottish Landlord Register to make information related to rent controls and increases more readily accessible to (prospective) tenants.
• Clarifying arrangements for joint tenants’ deposit returns when a tenant leaves and others continue under the same tenancy.

Alongside the Bill, our research shows that further measures are needed to ensure tenants understand and can exercise their rights: 

• We welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment to raising awareness of legislative changes and updating tenancy documents and information as part of the implementation of the Bill. This must be part of a wider strategy to better inform tenants and landlords of existing rights and obligations.
• Tenants need user-friendly, tenant focused information and support. 
• Redress pathways, such as the Tribunal, Rent Service Scotland and local authority services must be accessible and promote early resolution.
• Redress pathways should be designed around the needs of users and more user testing and evaluation should take place to ensure they meet these needs. 

• Eviction Grounds: The Scottish Government has previously committed to review the 18 existing grounds for eviction in Private Residential Tenancies. During Stage 2 discussions this commitment was restated. We recommend that a detailed review seeking views from tenants, advisers, Tribunal members and other stakeholders takes place within two years of the Bill’s passage. Our research has also found that tenants require support throughout Tribunal processes from an adviser, but that it can be difficult to access that level of support. There is a need to make the Tribunal system easier to navigate and to increase access to continuous support from an adviser throughout the process.
• Property Factoring: During Stage 2 the Scottish Government restated an intention to review the operation of factoring provisions. Consumers tell us they experience a range of issues with factors including delays in addressing unresolved safety hazards, unresolved maintenance issues, and a perceived lack of transparency and communication. In 2023/24, applications regarding property factors accounted for the third largest category of Tribunal cases behind evictions and civil proceedings - a 19% increase on 2022/23. Consumer Scotland supports such a review, which should take place within 2 years of the Bill’s passage. It should be informed by consumer experiences, and consider how to improve consumer confidence in the regulation of the sector, as well as opportunities to improve enforcement. We note that the Scottish Government has tasked the Scottish Law Commission with formulating proposals to reform tenancy law, including the introduction of mandatory Owners’ Associations. This may result in property factors taking on further responsibilities, which adds urgency to considering what measures need to be put in place to improve outcomes for consumers through better monitoring and regulation of factoring practices.
• Rent Controls: We consider that it is not yet clear to what extent Rent Control Areas will improve outcomes for tenants, and we would support a formal post-legislative review of these provisions within two years of the Bill’s passage to help protect tenants against unintended consequences.
• Information: We support provisions improving information sharing between the Scottish Government and local authorities, including details of actual rent paid, recent rent increases, and whether the property is subject to rent controls. However, in order to ensure that (prospective) tenants can benefit and make informed decisions, we consider that they should be able to easily access this information and it should be included in the publicly accessible Scottish Landlord Register.
• Repairs and maintenance: We support the implementation of Awaab’s Law (obliging investigation and repair of hazards within set timeframes) in both the social and private rented sector. We recommend that the Scottish Government reviews what differences in standards will remain between sectors and clarify how any differences will be addressed to ensure consistent outcomes for all tenants. This is especially important as evidence shows that privately rented properties are generally more likely to be in a state of disrepair than social homes, and currently lack access to redress services such as Ombudsmen to help resolve issues at an early stage.
• Domestic abuse: We support the duty on social landlords to consider domestic abuse as a factor in rent arrears, and measures designed to improve survivors’ ability to unilaterally end a joint tenancy. We support the commitment to review the impact of joint and several liability for council tax arrears, but consider that tenants would welcome clarity on how new regulations will impact on their ability to recoup their deposits if the same tenancy continues. We consider there is also a need for wider support for domestic abuse survivors, including funding where required and welcome the Scottish Government’s commitment in the Housing Emergency Action Plan to reinstate the Fund to Leave, supported by a £1 million investment.
• Consumer Duty: The Consumer Duty applies to relevant public authorities in Scotland, who must consider the impact on consumers in Scotland when they make strategic decisions, along with the desirability of reducing harm to consumers. Following extensive consultation, Consumer Scotland issued guidance on the duty. During implementation stage, the Scottish Government should consider how the Consumer Duty will impact on strategic decision-making by public authorities that are relevant bodies in the Bill, i.e. the implementation of the Ask and Act Duty by a local authority.  

• Consumer Scotland’s research into the experience of private tenants and advisers, due for publication in autumn, identified a number of barriers that are currently preventing tenancy issues from being resolved. These include a lack of clarity around tenant rights and landlord obligations, fears of retaliation, capacity issues for advice services, a perceived lack of transparency in decisions by Rent Service Scotland, and complex and lengthy Tribunal processes. Our research shows that the rights tenants have are not always clearly defined, and there is a need to ensure that the information made available to tenants and landlords clearly states their rights and responsibilities, and how these apply to their situation. This may increase tenants’ understanding and confidence to exercise their rights. 
• The Scottish Government should work together with stakeholders from across the housing sector, exploring how tenants can be better provided with access to practical and/or tailored information about new and existing tenant rights. This includes considering access to advice services and redress pathways. Tenants also require appropriate access to free and early advice to help them resolve issues they are facing. We recommend improved end-to-end support for tenants engaging with the Tribunal in particular. 
• We have shared our recommendations with the Scottish Government and will use the evidence from both our private and social rented sector research to help improve outcomes for tenants in Scotland.