Scottish landlords hike rents essentially the most regardless of hire controls

Landlords in Scotland are elevating rents yearly to compensate for the bounds of hire controls, Hamptons analysis reveals.

Since April 2024 hire will increase in Scotland have been restricted to the bottom of: the ‘open market hire’, the hire proposed by the owner, or the ‘permitted hire’ the place the tenant is paying at the very least 6% beneath the market fee.

Two thirds (67%) of Scottish landlords elevated the hire in each 2024 and 2025, in comparison with 58% throughout Nice Britain as a complete.

David Fell, lead analyst at Hamptons, stated: “The proof from Scotland means that hire controls hardly ever work as meant.

“At finest, they delay hire will increase; at worst, they set a brand new benchmark the place landlords really feel compelled to extend their rents yearly by the utmost allowed.

“Confronted with uncertainty over future guidelines, many landlords select to boost rents little and sometimes relatively than threat falling far beneath market ranges.

“Whereas the Renters’ Rights Act will give tenants extra time and energy to problem rents at tribunal, the proof suggests caps are solely a sticking plaster.

“Long term, the one manner of creating rents extra inexpensive is to extend the variety of properties accessible to hire and increase competitors amongst landlords for tenants.”

For these landlords who did elevate their hire, the scale of the common enhance was decrease in Scotland (10.1%) in comparison with the Nice Britain common (12.2%).

Since June 2025, the tempo of rental progress on new lets has picked up in Scotland, regardless of rents falling throughout Nice Britain.

Scottish rents rose by 2.5% from the identical time final yr, one in all solely two areas in Nice Britain the place rents rose by greater than 2% over the past yr.