The Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 for Landlords and Tenants

19 Dec 2025

By Stephen Dick, Partner, Real Estate at Gilson Gray.

Introduction

The Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 6 November 2025 and has now been passed into law. It aims to tackle Scotland’s housing crisis by delivering a “New Deal for Tenants” focused on inter alia affordability (rent control), enhanced rights (pets/decoration etc), security (evictions), and safety (Awaab’s law)

The Act’s provisions are wide-ranging and as well as strengthening tenant protections imposes several duties on landlords and local authorities which they will need to familiarise themselves with over the coming months to ensure they remain in compliance with the law.

The Act covers six main broad areas which can perhaps be summarised as follows:

1. Long‑Term Rent Control

This first area is discussed in more detail in a separate article published by Gilson Gray on rent control exemptions but in summary it provides as follows:-

• Rent Control Areas (RCAs): Local authorities have been given the power to designate RCAs with ministerial approval to manage local rent levels and keep rents affordable for tenants.
• Annual Cap: Rent hikes within such RCAs – whether between or during tenancies – are capped at CPI + 1%, with a maximum annual 6% increase.
• Exemptions: Mid‑market rent, build‑to‑rent, and purpose‑built student housing are exempt from these rent controls to encourage investment into these sectors which may have previously stalled, but tenants retain rights to challenge rent increases via rent adjudication if they deem them to be unreasonable or unaffordable.
• Data and Oversight: Councils must conduct rent condition assessments by 31 May 2027 and every five years thereafter, with powers to collect relevant data from landlords.

2. Enhanced Tenants’ Rights

• Pets and Decorations: Tenants can now request to keep pets or alter/decorate their homes with some changes not even to require consent. Landlords have 30 days to respond or are deemed to have refused consent; unreasonable conditions or refusals can be challenged before the First‑tier Tribunal.
• Rent Adjudication Window Extended: The period to challenge a landlord’s rent increase by referral to Rent Service Scotland has increased from 21 to 30 days.
• Joint Tenancy Flexibility: A single joint tenant may now terminate their lease independently, without needing consensus from all tenants as before.

3. Evictions and Unlawful Eviction Remedies

• Evictions: The First‑tier Tribunal are to consider whether there should be a delay in carrying out an eviction by balancing the circumstances of the tenant and the landlord.
• Unlawful Evictions: The damages calculation for unlawful eviction will increase to up to 36 times monthly rent and the First‑tier Tribunal must notify local authorities or the Police about unlawful eviction findings.

4. Homelessness Prevention: “Ask and Act”

Public bodies – including councils, NHS, and the police – must now proactively identify tenants at risk of homelessness and provide support starting six months before the risk materialises. This approach replaces the previous two-month threshold and requires creating a homelessness register to monitor vulnerable households.

5. Housing Standards & Awaab’s Law

• Awaab’s Law Introduced (named after two-year old Awaab Ishak who died in 2020 following prolonged exposure to damp and mould in his home in 2020): This initially targets damp and mould hazards posing significant health risks. Social landlords must investigate and remedy these hazards within specific timeframes, with the private rented sector to be covered by March 2026.
• Phase‑In of Broader Hazards: Over subsequent stages, the Act will mandate timely remediation of all serious housing hazards – such as excess cold, heat, falls associated with baths and stairs, fire, and electrical issues.

6. Succession and Empty Homes

• Succession Rights Expanded: The required period for a family member to succeed to a private residential tenancy on a cohabitation basis is reduced from 12 to 6 months.
• Council Tax Powers: Local councils can now impose council tax premiums on long-term empty properties or second homes. This policy is designed to discourage underuse of housing stock, support local housing supply and incentivise reoccupation.

Implementation Timeline & Next Steps

• As noted above Royal Assent was granted on 6 November 2025 but many measures within the Act depend on secondary legislation which may mean it could be some time yet before we have full clarity on all the key provisions and real change is seen.
• RCAs frameworks, regulatory exemptions, and rent adjudication provisions are expected to roll out from 2026 to 2028. Councils must complete their first rent condition assessments by 31 May 2027.
• Awaab’s Law for the private sector is scheduled for March 2026, with enforcement based on new statutory regulations.

Implications for tenants/landlords

The Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 marks a fundamental shift in Scottish housing policy.

For tenants, the Act offers greater control over private rented homes, reinforced safety standards, and protection against eviction and homelessness.

For landlords, it creates further new compliance demands which may lead to landlords reviewing the properties in their portfolios – especially within RCAs, regarding property conditions, and the management of tenancy requests.

Councils also gain expanded roles in regulating rent and housing quality.

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