Housing (Scotland) Bill

Closes 18 Jul 2025

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Exemptions - purpose-built rental housing - build to rent

In this section, we ask you to consider that:

  • purpose-built private rented accommodation (build to rent (BtR)) could be exempted from the application of rent controls under the Bill 
     
  • BtR could be defined to incorporate some of the following criteria: 
    • new homes built at scale and offered exclusively for rent (apartments and/or houses)
    • new homes provided at scale through conversion of  non-residential properties
    • on a single site or related sites
    • in single ownership
    • with management services provided by a single legal entity via a management regime and a single site wide building insurance structure
  • exemptions for BtR properties could end when the properties no longer meet these specified criteria
6. Should build to rent properties be exempted from the application of rent controls under the Bill?
7. Do you agree with the criteria we have set out which could be incorporated into a definition of build to rent for the purpose of a possible exemption?

The criteria that we have set out are:

  • new homes built at scale and offered exclusively for rent (apartments and/or houses)
  • new homes provided at scale through conversion of non-residential properties
  • on a single site or related sites
  • in single ownership
  • with management services provided by a single legal entity via a management regime and a single site wide building insurance structure.
8. Are there any other criteria that should be considered as part of a definition of build to rent for the purpose of a possible exemption?
9. Should build to rent properties only be exempted from rent controls for the time-frame that they meet the specified criteria?
10. Are there any other types of new rental housing provision which should be considered as part of this category of exemption?