Prs

The Property Managers Association Scotland (PMAS) has named managing director of James Gibb residential factors Nic Mayall as its new vice president by unanimous decision. PMAS representative body for professional property factor firms in Scotland.

Landlords in Glasgow are facing stricter new conditions on how they operate their property as part of an effort to curb the impact that houses of multiple occupancy (HMO) can have on communities. The conditions, which cover cleansing issues, repairs to common property and dealing with neighbour comp

Tenancy deposit protection scheme SafeDeposits Scotland has announced a programme of nine new landlord and letting agent educational workshops taking place across the country in April. The workshops will offer two courses; a ‘Basic Workshop’, and a more advanced ‘Making the Case fo

A Highland landlord has been fined £4,000 for operating a house in multiple occupation (HMO) without a licence. Following concerns that several flats within Cruickshank Court in Dingwall were being occupied as unlicensed HMOs, Highland Council’s environmental health team led a joint inve

Scotland’s largest landlord membership organisation has called on the UK Government to scrap legislation which makes landlords responsible for checking the immigration status of tenants, after the High Court in London ruled the law was in breach of human rights legislation. Under the ‘Ri

Criminal offences relating to unlawful eviction – that have existed for half a century – are not being upheld, according to new findings. Writing for the SCOLAG Journal, Shaun McPhee presents the preliminary findings of research on enforcement in the Scottish private rented sector, in pa

The Scottish Parliament’s social security committee has launched an inquiry into whether the social security system adequately supports tenants in both the private rented sector and social housing. There are growing concerns that a system which should support people to be able to rent an affor

Rents in Scotland’s private rented sector (PRS) have continued to rise with an increasing number of families now living in privately rented homes. In its latest report, property letting portal Citylets said a 5% year-on-year increase during the final quarter of 2018 was underpinned by strong d

The Highland Council, in partnership with Under One Roof Scotland, is inviting all private landlords to a special seminar specifically to look at issues surrounding  common repairs and building maintenance and how to deal with any problems that may arise. Under One Roof Scotland is an impartial

A Fort William landlord has been successfully prosecuted for operating a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) without a licence. Mr Harjinder Singh Randhawa, the owner of the 1st & 2nd floor flat at 39 High Street, pled guilty and was fined £1800 at Fort William Sheriff Court on January 28.

An MSP has cast doubt on the legality of key safe deposit boxes often installed on tenement doors in areas with a high proportion of short-term lets. Andy Wightman, housing spokesperson for the Scottish Greens, said it was "hard now not to notice" the number of key boxes appearing on the front of te

England should follow Scotland’s lead and introduce open-ended tenancies for private renters, according to a new report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR). The left-wing think tank said so-called “no-fault” evictions should be terminated, alongside other sweeping re

The Nationwide Foundation is inviting proposals to undertake qualitative research and quantitative analysis of the impact on tenants and landlords of changes to the Scottish private rented sector tenancy regime. The study has a particular focus on the recent introduction of the Private Residential T

Scotland’s largest student organisation has joined with Scotland’s only tenants’ union to demand a ‘winter break’ to forced evictions. The Living Rent tenants’ union has been backed by NUS Scotland in the call to prevent winter deaths on Scotland’s streets.

Selective licensing schemes in England are helping to tackle poor standards in the private rented sector but could be even more effective with more government support, the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) has found. A new joint report from the housing body and the Chartered Institute of Environm