SFHA is drafting a response to the open Housing Bill Consultation, which closes Friday July 18th. The Housing Bill has completed stage 2 (none of the amendments lodged to exempt MMR in primary legislation were accepted) and stage 3 is expected to begin from October, although there is no date confirmed yet. Scottish Government intends to align this consultation with the next phases of the Bill to inform secondary legislation on exemptions.

Please share any views by Tuesday 8 July to apidgeon@sfha.co.uk. We will share our full response on our website that week (w/c 7 July) for members and partners to see or use ahead of the deadline. As this is an open consultation, more individual responses expressing support for exempting MMR from the rent controls will help our case.

Our submission will reiterate calls for urgent, permanent exemption for Mid-Market Rent homes from private sector rent controls: a view shared by the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee and the Housing Investment Taskforce. It includes evidence from our recent MMR Survey 2025-2026, which identifies 2,935 homes in the MMR pipeline (for most survey respondents, this is within a 3-5 year pipeline). 40% of 2025-2026 MMR provider respondents said they have zero MMR homes in their pipeline.

The consultation covers the following:

Chapter 1- properties exempt from rent control area restrictions:

  • It asks if MMR should be exempted from the rent controls in the Housing Bill
  • Whether we agree with the criteria for MMR (including RSL subsidiaries and other orgs in receipt of Scot Gov funds)
  • Should MMR exemptions be for a specific duration of time that they meet specified criteria  
  • Demonstrating eligibility for exemption (confirmation/ communication to tenants/ verification)

Chapter 2 -  properties subject to modified rent control area restrictions

  • Circumstances in which a landlord of a property in a rent control area could increase the rent by more than the level of the rent cap for particular properties (e.g., for installing an upgraded heating system or energy efficiency improvements)
  • How increase above the cap might be calculated in cases where a landlord has made improvements to the property
  • Additional categories of housing that should be exempt

Chapter 3- ending joint tenancies in the PRS

This section seeks views on Housing Bill proposals to allow a joint PRT tenant to end a tenancy and prevent against ‘trapped’ tenancies—a particular concern for domestic abuse situations. The proposals include requirements for a pre-notice to be served to remaining tenant(s) and the landlord ahead of the 28-day notice. Questions include:

  • Whether a statutory form must be used for the pre-notice
  • Whether all joint tenants must provided with information about their rights and the stages of ending a joint tenancy without mutual agreement
  • Whether that the notice is given in a particular way for example, recorded delivery or by sheriff officer

The consultation and response form are available on the Scottish Government website: Ministerial foreword - Housing (Scotland) Bill: consultation - gov.scot