Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022

Part 1 Residential tenancies: rent cap and evictions

Rent cap

1 Rent cap for residential tenancies

Schedule 1 contains temporary modifications to the law in relation to rent controls.

Protection against eviction

2 Protection against eviction from residential properties

Schedule 2 contains temporary modifications to the law in relation to evictions.

Part 2 Part 1: supporting provisions

3 Information and advice for tenants

The Scottish Ministers must take steps to ensure that tenants affected by the provisions of Part 1 receive appropriate information, advice and support for the period during which Part 1 remains in force.

4 Advancement of equality and non-discrimination

(1) In exercising a function conferred by virtue of Part 1 (including a function of making subordinate legislation), the Scottish Ministers must have regard—

(a) to the importance of communicating in an inclusive way,

(b) to opportunities to advance equality and non-discrimination.

(2) In subsection (1)(a), “communicating in an inclusive way” means communicating in a way that ensures that individuals who have difficulty communicating (in relation to speech, language or otherwise) can receive information and express themselves in ways that best meet each individual’s needs.

5 Subordinate legislation making powers

Any power to make subordinate legislation conferred by virtue of Part 1 includes power to make—

(a) incidental, supplementary, consequential, transitional, transitory or saving provision,

(b) different provision for different purposes or areas.

6 Power to suspend and revive Part 1

(1) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations—

(a) suspend the operation of any provision in Part 1,

(b) revive the operation of a provision so suspended.

(2) Sections 15 to 17 of the Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 (effect of repeals) apply to the suspension of a provision by regulations under subsection (1)(a) as if the provision had been repealed by an Act.

(3) The powers in subsection (1) may be exercised more than once in relation to the same provision.

(4) Regulations under this section may make—

(a) different provision for different purposes or areas,

(b) consequential provision,

(c) transitional, transitory or saving provision.

(5) The power under subsection (4)(b) and (c) includes power to modify any enactment (including this Act).

(6) Regulations under this section—

(a) which add to, replace or omit any part of the text of an Act are subject to the affirmative procedure,

(b) otherwise, are subject to the negative procedure.

7 Expiry of Part 1

(1) Part 1 expires at the end of 31 March 2023.

(2) Subsection (1) is subject to section 8 (power to bring forward expiry).

(3) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations—

(a) amend subsection (1) so as to replace “31 March 2023” with “30 September 2023”,

(b) further amend subsection (1) so as to replace “30 September 2023” with “31 March 2024”.

(4) The power conferred by subsection (3)(b) may be used only after 31 March 2023.

(5) Regulations under subsection (3) are subject to the affirmative procedure.

(6) At the same time as laying a draft Scottish statutory instrument containing regulations under subsection (3) before the Scottish Parliament in accordance with section 29(2) of the Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 (instruments subject to the affirmative procedure), the Scottish Ministers must lay before the Parliament a statement of their reasons why the regulations should be made.

(7) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations make—

(a) consequential provision,

(b) transitional, transitory or saving provision,

in connection with the expiry under subsection (1) of any provision of this Act.

(8) Regulations under subsection (7) may—

(a) make different provision for different purposes or areas,

(b) modify any enactment (including this Act).

(9) Regulations under subsection (7)—

(a) which add to, replace or omit any part of the text of an Act are subject to the affirmative procedure,

(b) otherwise, are subject to the negative procedure.

8 Power to bring forward expiry of Part 1

(1) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations provide that any provision of Part 1—

(a) does not expire at the time when it would otherwise expire (whether by virtue of section 7 or previous regulations under this section), and

(b) expires instead at such earlier time as is specified in the regulations.

(2) Where the Scottish Ministers consider that any provision of Part 1 is no longer necessary or proportionate in connection with the cost of living, they must, as soon as is reasonably practicable—

(a) in a case where they consider that the provision may need to be revived, bring forward regulations under section 6(1) to suspend the provision,

(b) in any other case, bring forward regulations under subsection (1) to expire the provision.

(3) Regulations under this section may make—

(a) different provision for different purposes or areas,

(b) consequential provision,

(c) transitional, transitory or saving provision.

(4) The power under subsection (3)(b) and (c) includes power to modify any enactment (including this Act).

(5) Regulations under this section—

(a) which add to, replace or omit any part of the text of an Act are subject to the affirmative procedure,

(b) otherwise, are subject to the negative procedure.

9 Reports by the Scottish Ministers on status of Part 1 provisions

(1) The Scottish Ministers must, in respect of each reporting period—

(a) undertake a review of the operation of the provisions of Part 1 with a view to considering whether those provisions remain necessary and proportionate in connection with the cost of living, and

(b) prepare a report on that review.

(2) A report prepared under subsection (1) must—

(a) set out how any powers conferred by the provisions of Part 1 have been exercised,

(b) set out the steps the Scottish Ministers have taken to meet the requirements in section 3, and

(c) include—

(i) the status of the provisions of Part 1 (whether or not any power under a provision has been exercised), and

(ii) a statement that the Scottish Ministers are satisfied that the status of those provisions is appropriate.

(3) Before Scottish Ministers prepare a report of a review under subsection (1), the Scottish Ministers—

(a) must consult—

(i) such persons as appear to them to represent the interests of tenants and landlords that may be affected by the provisions of Part 1,

(ii) local authorities,

(b) may consult any other person they consider appropriate.

(4) A review under this section must include a summary of how the views of those consulted under subsection (3) were taken into account by the Scottish Ministers in finalising their report.

(5) The references in subsection (2) to the “status” of a provision are to—

(a) whether the provision is in force at the end of the reporting period, and

(b) whether any power under the following provisions has been exercised by the Scottish Ministers in relation to it during that period (and, if so, how)—

(i) section 6 (power to suspend or revive provisions),

(ii) section 8 (power to bring forward expiry).

(6) Each of the following is a “reporting period”—

(a) the period beginning with the day after Royal Assent and ending on 31 December 2022,

(b) each successive period of 3 months that ends during the period before Part 1 of this Act expires by virtue of section 7(1) or 8(1) up to and including 31 December 2023.

(7) In the report in respect of the period ending 31 December 2022, the Scottish Ministers must, in considering the application of the permitted rate (within the meaning of section 24A(1) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2001) of 0%, explain whether they propose to—

(a) retain the permitted rate at 0%,

(b) increase the permitted rate,

(c) make regulations under section 8(1) to provide for the expiry of paragraph 3 of schedule 1, or

(d) make regulations under section 6(1) to suspend the operation of that paragraph.

(8) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of a reporting period if, during the reporting period, the Scottish Ministers are required under section 7(6) to lay before the Scottish Parliament a statement of their reasons why regulations should be made under that section.

(9) Where the Scottish Ministers are required to prepare a report under subsection (1) in respect of a reporting period, they must lay the report before the Scottish Parliament no later than 14 days after the end of the reporting period.

Part 3 Residential tenancies: rent adjudication

10 Rent adjudication: power to modify

Schedule 3 contains modifications to the law in relation to rent adjudication.

11 Expiry of section 10

(1) Section 10 expires at the end of 31 March 2024.

(2) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations provide that, instead of expiring at the time it would otherwise expire, section 10 will expire at the end of a period of not more than one year from that time.

(3) For the avoidance of doubt, the power under subsection (2) may be exercised more than once.

(4) Regulations under subsection (2)—

(a) are subject to the affirmative procedure, and

(b) must be made before section 10 expires.

(5) At the same time as laying a draft Scottish statutory instrument containing regulations under subsection (2) before the Scottish Parliament in accordance with section 29(2) of the Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 (instruments subject to the affirmative procedure), the Scottish Ministers must lay before the Parliament a statement of their reasons why the regulations should be made.

Part 4 General

12 Ancillary provision

(1) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations make any incidental, supplementary, consequential, transitional, transitory or saving provision they consider appropriate for the purposes of, in connection with or for giving full effect to this Act or any provision made under it.

(2) Regulations under subsection (1) may modify any enactment (including this Act).

(3) Without prejudice to section 6 of the Interpretation and Legislative Reform (Scotland) Act 2010, the Scottish Ministers may by regulations modify any regulations made under subsection (1) in consequence of—

(a) the exercise of a power under section 6 (power to suspend and revive provisions),

(b) the expiry of a provision of this Act under section 7 (expiry),

(c) the exercise of a power under section 8 (power to bring forward expiry).

(4) Regulations under subsection (3) may make transitional, transitory or saving provision.

(5) Regulations under this section—

(a) which add to, replace or omit any part of the text of an Act are subject to the affirmative procedure,

(b) otherwise, are subject to the negative procedure.

13 Commencement

(1) This Act comes into force on the day after Royal Assent.

(2) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations make transitional, transitory or saving provision in connection with the coming into force of any provision of this Act.

14 Short title

The short title of this Act is the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022.