Scotland’s New Landlord Laws: What Changed and What’s Coming Next

Scotland’s rental rules have changed again—and landlords and letting agents need to understand both what is already in force and what is coming next.

In this market update, Steven is joined by Lyndsay from Rent Locally and Property Investors Network to break down Awaab’s Law, new succession rights, wrongful-termination compensation and protections against discrimination when choosing tenants.

They also look ahead to April 2027, including changes to joint tenancies, rent-officer decisions, pets and decorating. Lyndsay explains what the rules could mean in practice for HMO landlords, letting agents and tenants—and why responsible landlords may already be following many of the same principles.

EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• What Awaab’s Law means when a tenant reports damp or mould

• The response times discussed for inspecting a property and beginning remedial work

• How to distinguish surface condensation from water ingress and structural damp

• Lyndsay’s early experience across approximately 2,500 managed properties

• Why the tenancy-succession qualifying period has fallen from 12 months to six

• Compensation tenants may pursue following wrongful termination

• What landlords should document if a property does not sell and is returned to the rental market

• How councils are collecting data before deciding whether areas require rent controls

• New protections for applicants with children or receiving benefits

• Why letting agents should record affordability checks and tenant-selection decisions

• The April 2027 changes allowing one joint tenant to leave without the other’s consent

• Concerns about how the joint-tenancy rules could affect abuse survivors, HMOs and student lets

• Why rent officers will no longer be able to set rent above the increase requested by the landlord

• How requests to keep pets or decorate a rental property should be handled

• Why additional disputes could create further pressure on the First-tier Tribunal

• Whether increasing regulation is discouraging Lyndsay from investing

CHAPTERS

00:00 - Scotland’s latest landlord-law update

01:10 - Awaab’s Law and damp-response times

02:39 - Condensation versus water ingress

05:32 - Succession rights fall from 12 months to six

06:49 - Wrongful termination and compensation

08:17 - Proving a genuine attempt to sell

10:18 - Rent controls and local-authority data

13:22 - New anti-discrimination protections

16:18 - Records letting agents need to keep

18:32 - Penalties for unlawful discrimination

18:58 - Joint-tenancy changes from April 2027

21:19 - Concerns for abuse survivors and HMOs

27:29 - Why rent-control rules are still being defined

30:00 - How rent officers assess market rent

32:15 - Staying ahead of legislative changes

36:04 - New limits on rent-officer decisions

38:15 - Pets and decorating requests

40:50 - Pressure on the First-tier Tribunal

44:46 - Do the new rules deter investors?

45:27 - Networking and the Scottish Property Investors Ball

CONNECT WITH LYNDSAY

Lyndsay on Instagram: @lyndsayyuill

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