Two significant changes for Scottish landlords take effect on 6 October 2026. Awards for wrongful termination rise from a ceiling of six months’ rent to a range running up to thirty-six times a set monthly figure. Separately, the qualifying period for someone to succeed to a private residential tenancy falls from twelve months to six. This guide explains both changes, sets out where rent control actually stands, and lists what landlords should do between now and October.
The Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 is arriving in stages rather than all at once, which makes it easy to lose track of what applies when. The rent control framework went live on 1 April 2026. A further tranche takes effect on 6 October 2026, and two of those provisions matter a great deal to private landlords in Lanarkshire and across Scotland.
Neither change is complicated in itself. Both, however, reward landlords who keep proper records and who take advice before serving any notice. Below we set out what is coming, what is already in force, and the practical steps worth taking over the next few weeks.
What Has Already Changed for Scottish Landlords Since April 2026
The Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 received Royal Assent in November 2025. Rather than commencing in one go, its provisions are being switched on across four appointed days: 1 April 2026, 1 August 2026, 6 October 2026 and 1 April 2027.
April brought the rent control framework itself into force. Local authorities must now assess rent conditions in their area and report to Scottish Ministers, with the first reports due no later than 31 May 2027. Councils and Ministers also gained the power to ask landlords and tenants for information about a rented property and the rent charged.
For most landlords, April changed very little day to day. No rent control area has been designated anywhere in Scotland, and none can realistically follow until the council assessments are in. October is a different matter, because the two changes coming then apply directly to individual tenancies.
Sheriff Stuart Reid found the mother in contempt of court. He described her disregard of the order as deliberate and prolonged, and her conduct as, in his words, “protracted, brazen and entrenched”. Because a financial penalty was considered insufficient, he ordered that she be imprisoned for seven days. You can read the full judgment on the Scottish Courts website.
Higher Awards for Wrongful Termination From 6 October
A wrongful-termination order is made by the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland, Housing and Property Chamber. It can be granted where a tenant left because a landlord relied on an eviction ground that did not genuinely apply, or where an eviction order was obtained by misleading the Tribunal.
At present the Tribunal can order a payment of up to six months’ rent, and there is no minimum. From 6 October, section 34 of the 2025 Act replaces that with a band. The award must be no less than three times, and no more than thirty-six times, what the legislation calls the relevant sum.
The relevant sum is one month’s rent under the tenancy, or £840 if that is the higher figure. So the arithmetic works out like this:
- Rent of £700 a month gives a relevant sum of £840, because the fixed floor is higher. The band therefore runs from £2,520 to £30,240.
- Rent of £1,100 a month gives a relevant sum of £1,100. The band runs from £3,300 to £39,600.
When fixing the figure, the Tribunal must consider how the wrongful termination came about and the effect it had on the former tenant. There is a safety valve, though. The Tribunal may reduce an award below three times the relevant sum where it considers that appropriate, having regard to all the circumstances of the case.
Timing determines which rules apply. The new band bites where a private residential tenancy came to an end by eviction order, or under section 50 of the 2016 Act, on or after 6 October 2026. You can read the commencement provisions on legislation.gov.uk.
Changes to Tenancy Succession on a Tenant’s Death
Where the sole tenant of a private residential tenancy dies, the tenancy does not automatically end. It can pass to a partner, or failing that to another family member, or failing that to a resident carer.
Each of those routes carries a qualifying period. Section 48 of the 2025 Act cuts that period from twelve months to six, and the change applies where the tenant dies on or after 6 October 2026.
A couple of points are easily missed. A husband, wife or civil partner has no qualifying period to satisfy at all. The six-month test applies to a cohabiting partner, to other family members and to a resident carer.
Equally important, the notification requirement has not changed. Before the tenant died, the landlord must have been given written notice that the person now claiming occupied the property as their only or principal home. In practice that makes your records the deciding factor, so it is worth checking what you actually hold for each tenancy.
Where Rent Control Actually Stands in Scotland
Rent control generates more anxiety among landlords than any other part of the Act, and much of it is premature. The framework exists, but no area has been designated.
The sequence is set out on the Scottish Government’s rent controls page. Councils assess rent conditions and report by 31 May 2027. Only then can Scottish Ministers consider designating an area, and only after consulting the council and representatives of local landlords and tenants.
Should an area ever be designated, increases for applicable properties would be capped at the Consumer Price Index plus one percentage point, to a maximum of six per cent. That cap would apply both during a tenancy and between tenancies, with one increase permitted every twelve months even where the tenant changes. Mid-market rent and some build-to-rent properties are to be exempt.
Outside a rent control area, and that currently means everywhere in Scotland, the existing rules continue. You may raise the rent once in any twelve-month period, on three months’ notice, and the tenant may refer the increase to a rent officer. From 1 April 2027 that referral window extends from twenty-one days to thirty, and a rent officer or the Tribunal will no longer be able to set a rent higher than the figure the landlord proposed.
What Landlords Should Do Before October
None of this calls for panic, but a short piece of housekeeping now will save trouble later. We would suggest working through the following:
- Check who is living in each property. Compare your records against the tenancy agreement and note anyone who has moved in since. Where written notice was given, file it somewhere you can find it.
- Confirm your landlord registration is current with the relevant local authority, along with your gas safety, electrical and smoke alarm compliance.
- Review your evidence before serving any notice to leave. This is the single most valuable thing you can do ahead of October, for the reasons set out in the next section.
- Diarise rent increase dates so you do not accidentally fall foul of the once-in-twelve-months rule.
- Be ready for an information request. Councils and Ministers can now ask for details of the property and the rent charged, and there are consequences for ignoring the request or answering it inaccurately.
- Take advice before ending a tenancy after 6 October, particularly if you are relying on an intention to sell or to move in.
Why Choose Pomphreys?
Pomphreys has served landlords and property owners across Wishaw, Motherwell and the wider Lanarkshire area since 1897. Unusually, we are both a firm of solicitors and an estate agency, so the legal advice and the day-to-day management sit under one roof.
That matters with legislation like this. Our lettings service for landlords covers tenant sourcing and referencing, lease preparation, deposit protection, inventories and inspections, and ongoing compliance. Where a tenancy runs into difficulty, our legal team is already familiar with the property and the paperwork.
We can also help you look further ahead. If the changing regulatory picture has you weighing up whether to keep a property or release the capital, our estate agency team and our conveyancing department can talk you through both routes. Some landlords will want to hold and tighten up their processes. Others will decide the time is right to sell. We are happy to advise on either.
Get your tenancies in order before October
If you would like a second opinion on your paperwork, your notices or your evidence, we are glad to help. Call Pomphreys on 01698 373365 for a straightforward, no-obligation conversation, or get in touch through our online contact form and we will come back to you promptly.
Frequently Asked Questions for Scottish Landlords
Are rent controls in force in North Lanarkshire?
No. The framework that allows rent control areas to be created came into force on 1 April 2026, but no area anywhere in Scotland has been designated. North Lanarkshire Council, like every other local authority, must assess rent conditions and report to Scottish Ministers by 31 May 2027. Any designation would follow after that report and after consultation. For now, the ordinary rent increase rules apply.
What is a wrongful termination order?
It is an order from the First-tier Tribunal requiring a landlord to pay a former tenant, made where the tenancy ended because the tenant was misled about an eviction ground, or where an eviction order was obtained by misleading the Tribunal. At present the maximum is six months’ rent. Where a tenancy ends on or after 6 October 2026, the award will instead fall between three and thirty-six times one month’s rent, or £840 if that is higher, with the Tribunal retaining a discretion to go lower in appropriate cases.
Can I still increase the rent to market level?
Yes, in the current position. Outside a rent control area you may set the rent freely at the start of a new tenancy, and you may increase it once in any twelve-month period during a tenancy by giving three months’ notice. Your tenant can refer the proposed increase to a rent officer. That remains the case until an area is designated for rent control, which cannot happen before the council assessments are complete.
Do these changes affect tenancies that are already running?
They can do, but the trigger is the event rather than the tenancy start date. The wrongful termination changes apply where a tenancy comes to an end on or after 6 October 2026, whenever it began. The succession changes apply where the tenant dies on or after that date. So an existing tenancy granted several years ago is fully within scope if the relevant event happens after 6 October.
This article is by Alison McIntyre
Alison McIntyre, Estate Agent and Property Manager
Being an estate agent and property manager at Pomphreys Properties is a very varied, busy and fulfilling role!
Every day is different! Some days are spent out of the Office with property valuations, rental inspections and accompanied viewings. Others are office based, catching up with clients, meetings, setting closing dates for popular properties, negotiating and discussing offers.
Tel: 01698 373 365
Email: amc@pomphreyslaw.com
