What to know regarding rent increases on Private Rented Tenancies.

How much can the tenant’s rent increase by?

The landlord can propose an increase of any amount. If the tenant wishes to challenge the increase they can refer it to the rent officer*.

If the application to the rent officer is made ON/AFTER 1 APRIL 2025, the rent officer* must set the rent at the open market rental value, even if that is higher than what the landlord has proposed in the rent increase notice.

What is the open market rental value ?
To work out the open market rental value look at what rents comparable properties are being marketed at.

How are the tenants notified of a rent increase?
They have to be given 3 months’ notice of a rent increase using a prescribed form . The notice should be issued using whatever method of delivery has been agreed in the “communication” section of the lease. If it is being sent by email or recorded delivery you need to add 48 hours to the notice period for delivery time.

The three month notice period starts on the day the Tenant receives the rent increase notice and ends the same date three months after the Tenant received it.

For example if the Tenant received the rent increase notice on 4 April, the three months’ notice period would end on 4 July, so the earliest date the increased rent would apply is 5 July.

How often can the rent be increased?
The first rent increase can be carried out at any time after the start of the lease but thereafter the rent cannot be increased more frequently than once a year.

Tenants Response

Tenant(s) should respond to this rent increase notice by returning Part 3.

If the Tenant(s) does not complete and return Part 3, the rent increase will start from the date proposed in this notice.

Tenant(s) may ask to discuss the proposed new rent or will use Part 3 of this notice to respond in one of three ways. By:
i) Accepting proposed new rent which will start on the date in this Notice).

ii) Accepting proposed new rent, but challenging the date on which it will apply .  The tenant(s) must be able to prove that they have not been given enough notice of the rent increase)

iii) Advising that the proposed rent is not acceptable, and they are referring their case to a Rent Officer for a decision on the rent amount (if the Tenant(s) indicates that they want to refer the rent increase notice to a Rent Officer, this must be done within 21 days of the Tenant receiving this rent increase notice.

*This option is only available if the Let Property is not in a rent pressure zone)*

There are currently no Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs) in Scotland. RPZs can be designated by Scottish Ministers only in extreme circumstances where there is evidence that rents are increasing by too much
and in doing so are causing undue hardship to tenants and putting pressure on the local authority to
provide housing or subsidise the cost of housing. A RPZ puts a limit on how much a landlord can
increase the rent of tenants on PRTs by. The limit must be at least 1% above the Consumer Prices Index
(CPI).