The Housing (Scotland) Bill received Royal Assent earlier this month and has now become an Act – the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025.
Next steps
The implementation work will begin and attention will now shift to three principal workstreams:
- Draft regulations setting out the exemption criteria for MMR and BtR. Consultation papers are expected early in the new year, with the affirmative approval process running through the spring term.
- Statutory guidance for local authorities on designating rent control areas, including how exempt tenures must be taken into account in setting local permitted rates.
- Supplementary regulations clarifying operational details such as rent review notices, procedural safeguards and Tribunal jurisdiction.
We are expecting a phased implementation in which the headline rent control procedure commences first, followed by staged commencement orders bringing the exemptions and enforcement mechanisms into force.
This update follows on from our previous updates on the Bill, which go into further detail on the key provisions of the Bill (and now Act) and the potential implications for stakeholders. A link to our previous update can be found here: https://cms-lawnow.com/en/ealerts/2025/10/the-housing-scotland-bill-update#mai
