On 3rd June 2019 the Scottish Parliament passed changes to The Private Landlord Registration (Information) (Scotland) Regulations 2019, and these will come into force on 16th September 2019.
What is landlord registration?
All local authorities have a register of landlords and letting agents. You must register with your local authority (where the property is located) before you rent out your property. The local authority will run a series of checks to ensure you are a ‘fit and proper person’. If you haven’t registered, or haven’t applied to be registered, you are committing a criminal offence.
What’s Changing?
- When applying for landlord registration, landlords must declare that their property meets the Repairing Standard, and that all relevant safety certificates are in place.
- When you apply to landlord registration you must pay a fee, originally £55 plus £11 for each additional property. This has now increased to £65 plus £15 for each additional property. You still receive a 10% discount if you apply online. Registration lasts for three years, and can be renewed anytime within the last three months. Failure to renew following two letters from the Local Authority will result in a £130 fine! And there’s no discount on that either…
Check your Status
If your registration is due to expire in the next three months we suggest renewing before the prices increase.
Check the website for more details – https://www.landlordregistrationscotland.gov.uk/
Author: Andrew Cutt
