Consultation on proposals for reviewing the current landlord registration fee structure and expanding the range of prescribed information applicants must provide to local authorities

Closed 7 Jun 2018

Opened 15 Mar 2018

Contact

0131 244 5401

Landlordreg2018@gov.scot

Feedback updated 4 Jul 2019

We asked

We asked for your views on

  • Proposals to ask for additional information about compliance with legal duties relating to letting houses;
  • Options for amending the landlord registration fee structure.

You said

We received 239 responses to the consultation, of which 80 were from organisations, 95 from individuals and 64 from those who identified themselves as landlords.

  • Responses indicated broad support for requiring landlords to provide more information about compliance with specific legal duties, in particular relating to property condition and safety. 
  • Concerns were expressed about the cumulative financial impact of all the proposals for amending landlord registration fees (the rate of inflation calculated since landlord registration was introduced in 2006) coupled with removing discounts for joint applications, online applications and applications across multiple areas. 

View the analysis report on responses to the public consultation on changes to fee structure and required prescribed information for landlord registration here

 

We did

We published the 207 non-confidential responses to the consultation and an analysis report.  Taking into account the responses received and other stakeholder feedback we introduced the following regulations.

  • The Private Landlord Registration (Information and Fees) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2018 - removed the 10% discount that previously applied to internet-based applications, from 1 December 2018.
  • The Private Landlord Registration (Fees) (Scotland) Regulations 2019 introduced the following changes to applications fees from 11 June 2019:
    •    The principal fee increased from £55 to £65;
    •    The property fee increased from £11 to £15;
    •    The additional fee increased from £110 to £130.
    •    These regulations also give Scottish Ministers the ability to apply a rate of inflation increase to application fees, subject to an annual review of the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). As a result of the consultation the policy was revised so that the increase was not backdated to 2006 as proposed in the consultation.
  • The Private Landlord Registration (Information) (Scotland) Regulations 2019 will come into force on 16 September 2019 and will introduce a more robust application process that will raise awareness amongst landlords about their legal duties, provide better assurance of landlord competence and compliance, and highlight to local authorities where further advice and support is needed to help landlords meet the standards of registration.

Published responses

View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.

Overview

Mandatory private landlord registration has been in place since 2004. It plays an important role in helping to improve standards for over 770,000 people who rely on the private rented sector to provide them with a home.

Evidence suggests that the current application process is not robust enough to ensure that all landlords understand and comply with their legal responsibilities. The consultation therefore seeks views on proposals to ask for additional information about compliance with legal duties relating to letting houses.

Landlord registration application fees have not increased since 2006, and so they do not reflect the additional work or increased costs to local authorities of administering landlord registration within an expanding private rented sector. The consultation also seeks views on amending the current fee structure to ensure that fees are proportionate and reasonable to the authorisation process undertaken by local authorities.

Why your views matter

The proposals are intended to strengthen the system of landlord registration in a proportionate way that will help to ensure that homes rented to private rented sector tenants are of good quality and are managed professionally.

Responses to the consultation will help to shape changes to the application process that will require landlords to demonstrate that they meet their legal responsibilities. They will also inform amendments to the way that fees are charged so that local authorities have enough resources to make informed decisions about who can be approved to operate as a landlord.

Download the consultation paper.

View accessible HTML here

The Scottish Government’s Landlord Registration Team will be holding a series of consultation events throughout May.

The sessions provide the opportunity for those with an interest in landlord registration to participate in group discussion and provide feedback on the consultation. The proposals are intended to help landlords to understand their responsibilities, make the application process more robust and ensure that fees are set at a reasonable level. The overarching aim is to help improve standards of property condition and management in the private rented sector.

To book a place, please click one of the links listed below.

Events

  • Edinburgh

    From 14 May 2018 at 10:00 to 14 May 2018 at 12:30

    https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/consultation-on-proposed-changes-to-the-landlord-registration-application-process-and-fee-structure-tickets-44546492759

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  • Edinburgh

    From 14 May 2018 at 14:00 to 14 May 2018 at 16:30

    https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/consultation-on-proposed-changes-to-the-landlord-registration-application-process-and-fee-structure-tickets-44552089499

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  • Glasgow

    From 16 May 2018 at 10:00 to 16 May 2018 at 12:30

    https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/consultation-on-proposed-changes-to-the-landlord-registration-application-process-and-fee-structure-tickets-44546514825

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  • Glasgow

    From 16 May 2018 at 13:30 to 16 May 2018 at 16:00

    https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/consultation-on-proposed-changes-to-the-landlord-registration-application-process-and-fee-structure-tickets-44546601083

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  • Dundee

    From 21 May 2018 at 09:30 to 21 May 2018 at 12:00

    https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/consultation-on-proposed-changes-to-the-landlord-registration-application-process-and-fee-structure-tickets-44545293171

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  • Aberdeen

    From 21 May 2018 at 14:30 to 21 May 2018 at 17:00

    https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/consultation-on-proposed-changes-to-the-landlord-registration-application-process-and-fee-structure-tickets-44545417543

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  • Inverness

    From 22 May 2018 at 10:00 to 22 May 2018 at 12:30

    https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/consultation-on-proposed-changes-to-the-landlord-registration-application-process-and-fee-structure-tickets-44629018596

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Interests

  • Housing and Regeneration