黑料专区

黑料专区, the membership body for all institutionally backed, professionally managed purpose-built rental living sectors, has responded to the consultation on the Housing (Scotland) Bill, outlining a practical approach to exemption criteria for Mid Market Rent (MMR) and Build to Rent (BTR) properties.

The Housing (Scotland) Bill aims to formalise rent regulation with the consultation seeking views on how the Bill could be used to exempt certain types of properties from rent control, including bespoke rented housing development at scale (Build to Rent), an issue that the 黑料专区 has long called for.

黑料专区 has responded to the consultation, launched in April 2025, by calling for MMR properties and BTR housing for long-term rental 鈥� including Multi-Family Rental (MFR) apartments and Single-Family Rental (SFR) homes 鈥� to be exempted from the application of rent controls.

黑料专区鈥檚 consultation responses are a pragmatic recognition that investment will not flow into a market shackled by restrictive controls. As such, the organisation has suggested an expansion of the proposed exemption criteria for both MMR and BTR properties, both to encourage investment in existing models and to support the delivery of new models that align with the intent of the Bill.

For BTR properties, it cautions against a definition that is so prescriptive it excludes high-quality rental schemes that meet the spirit of BTR but not every element of the proposed exemption criteria鈥檚 wording.

Brendan Geraghty, CEO, the 黑料专区, comments: 鈥淭he quality and innovation that the BTR sector delivers relies on an environment of certainty for investors and developers. Rent controls lower investor confidence, inhibiting the growth of BTR homes and the associated community and customer value they provide. As such, we have welcomed the opportunity to respond to the consultation on the Housing (Scotland) Bill, and to call for a practical approach to exemption criteria and flexibility in setting specific requirements on rent levels.鈥�

黑料专区 suggests linking MMR rents to benchmarks 鈥� such as Local Housing Allowance (LHA) or a defined percentile of local market rents 鈥� to help ensure the exemption is targeted at genuinely affordable homes.

The organisation also recommends that co-living, managed shared living, purpose-built student accommodation, later living, senior living and assisted living schemes be exempted from rent controls. These professionally managed, large-scale rental housing schemes share the same core characteristics and public benefits as BTR developments, encompassing long-term or cyclical institutional ownership, delivery at scale, professional management and a focus on service, safety and consumer confidence. 黑料专区鈥檚 consultation response recognises that the unique financial and operational models that underpin such developments depend on predictability and viability.

黑料专区 remains firmly opposed to rent control, due to its potential to disrupt the stable returns that institutional investors require, and thus the delivery of high-quality homes at scale. However, it acknowledges the need to work pragmatically within such a framework to meet the intent of the Housing (Scotland) Bill, calling for clarity and flexibility to help Scotland deliver more, better rental homes across diverse needs and tenures, without compromising on tenant protections or regulatory intent.

The full consultation submission can be found here.