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The final stage of the Housing (Scotland) Bill (Stage 3) is due to take place on 23 and 24 September 2025.  This blog looks at what happened to the Bill at Stage 2 in advance of the final debate. 

What does the Housing (Scotland) Bill do?

The Housing (Scotland) Bill, introduced in the Parliament in March 2024,  deals mainly with private rented tenancies and homelessness prevention. Further details are in a SPICe briefing about the Bill as it was introduced.

Stage 2 is when committees consider detailed amendments to the Bill.  The Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee and the Social Justice and Social Security Committee were busy, debating nearly 700 amendments over 10 meetings.

A SPICe briefing provides more information on what happened at Stage 2 and this blog summarises some of the main changes that were made.   The Bill as amended at Stage 2 has also been published.

Homelessness prevention

Part 5 of the Bill relates to homelessness prevention and would introduce an ‘ask and act duty’ on relevant public bodies, with the aim of making homelessness prevention a shared responsibility across the public sector. It also requires social landlords to have a policy which sets out how they will support tenants who are at risk of homelessness due to domestic abuse.

Amendments agreed at Stage 2 included those that would:

  • provide more detail on the ‘ask and act duty’ and a right to review for certain local authority decisions
  • facilitate information sharing and coordination amongst relevant bodies in the discharge of their ‘ask and act duty’
  • expand the list of relevant bodies to whom the ‘ask and act duty’ applies to include Social Security Scotland.
  • amend the local authority process for assessing homelessness applications to provide for the removal of the local authority power to assess whether someone is intentionally threatened with homelessness.

A range of other amendments covering topics such as further changes to the ‘ask and act’ duty and protection of persons experiencing domestic abuse were debated. The then Minister for Housing, Paul McLennan MSP, agreed to further discussion with Members on some of the proposed amendments prior to Stage 3.

Rent control areas

Possibly the most debated aspect of the Bill was its proposal to allow rent control areas to be introduced, if certain conditions were met.  Within a rent control area, rent increases for existing and some new private residential tenancies would be restricted.

The Bill as it was introduced had provided that the detail of the rent cap would be set out in future regulations. At Stage 2, Scottish Government amendments changed this. The formula for the rent cap to be applied in rent control areas is now on the face of the Bill and is set out as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) + 1% up to a maximum of 6%.   

Non-Government amendments agreed to, but not supported by the Scottish Government, included those that would:

  • change the approval process for a rent control area designation
  • require that regulations proposing a rent control area designation provide that the amount specified must be calculated with reference to the quality, state of repair, and energy efficiency of a property
  • provide that rent payable means the amount that is payable in rent, excluding any charges for water, sewage, gas, or electricity which are directly payable to the landlord under the tenancy agreement
  • include student tenancies into various provisions in Part 1 of the Bill.

Scottish Government amendments lodged at Stage 3 (see below) seek to remove change some of the amendments it did not agree to in this part of the Bill.

There was also debate about exemptions to the rent cap, and circumstances in which rents could be increased above the rent cap in a rent control area.

Following a consultation on this matter, in September the new Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Mairi McAllan MSP, has indicated the Scottish Government’s intention to bring forward regulations exempting mid-market rent and build-to-rent properties, where appropriate, from relevant rent controls under the Bill.  The full detail of these exemptions will be subject to full consideration of consultation responses and further stakeholder engagement over the coming months.

Data and information

A key issue during the Stage 1 proceedings concerned the need for sufficient data to provide evidence to justify the introduction of any rent control areas.

Scottish Government amendments agreed to sought to strengthen the data collection powers that were already set out in the Bill. This included giving Scottish Ministers, in addition to local authorities, powers to collect data from landlords on the private landlord register.

Keeping pets and personalisation of rented homes

Scottish Government amendments sought to provide more certainty on the potential content of secondary regulations relating to keeping pets and personalisation of rented homes. 

Evictions

Scottish Government amendments would change the penalties the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber) could order landlords in Scotland to pay for wrongfully ending a private residential tenancy. The process for determining damages for an unlawful eviction was also amended.

Other Members lodged a range of amendments on this topic, for example restrictions on evictions during the winter period.  The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice indicated that some of the issues raised during the discussion might best be considered as part of future wider review of eviction grounds under the private residential tenancy, which the Scottish Government had committed to undertake.

Housing quality

Scottish Government amendments would enable regulations for an “Awaab’s law” for social rented housing in Scotland so that social landlords must deal with certain disrepair issues, including dampness, in a timely manner.

In her statement on the housing emergency in September, the Cabinet Secretary indicated that this would be implemented, “from March 2026, starting with damp and mould, subject to parliamentary approval.”

The Scottish Government is also committed to extending this to the private rented sector by modifying powers in existing legislation, after further consultation. 

Other issues

Other amendments agreed to included those on topics that were not covered by the Bill as introduced including those that would:

  • make changes to the registration and removal process for the Scottish Property Factors Register
  • require Scottish Ministers to review the impact of joint and several liability for council tax arrears on domestic abuse victims and survivors
  • make changes to the operation of local authorities’ Housing Revenue Accounts and council tax legislation on unoccupied dwellings.
  • create an independent appeals process for decisions by the Scottish Housing Regulator to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland
  • transfer the functions for the resolution of disputes between park home owners’ and residents from the sheriff court to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (this was not supported by the Scottish Government).

Further discussion before Stage 3

Some of non-Government amendments were not pressed by Members on the basis that there would be further discussions with the Government prior to Stage 3. The Cabinet Secretary wrote to the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee on 11 June 2025, setting out examples of the topics that she was keen to discuss including homelessness prevention measures, student tenancies, mobile homes, evictions, repairs and standards and cooperatives. 

Stage 3 amendments

Almost another 400 amendments have been lodged at Stage 3.  Many opposition amendments are similar to those lodged at Stage 2 that were not pressed or not agreed to.

The Bill’s Stage 3 debate is due to take place in the Parliament chamber on September 23 and 24 2025.

Kate Berry

Senior Researcher

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