Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022
CoLA was introduced by Scottish Government as a response to the impact of the cost of living crisis on those living in the rented sector in Scotland and this will end on 31 March 2024.  The Act imposed a temporary cap on rent increases, set to a maximum of 3%, and a temporary moratorium on the enforcement of evictions and Scottish Government announced in January 2024 that neither of these will be in effect from 1 April 2024.
 
Why are we increasing our rent charges?
Coming out of a pandemic, along with Brexit and an increase in inflation, the costs of goods and services that we all use have increased and remained at these high levels ever since.  This has subsequently impacted on CHT, how we run our business and deliver our services.
Rents are one of the main sources of income for CHT and the level of rent that we charge is key to enabling us to invest in the homes we rent out and the services that we provide. 
 
Repairs and maintenance are the main expenditures we have in managing our properties and over the past 4 years, these costs have increased significantly, due to:

  • Inflation rates and availability affecting the cost of materials and parts 
  • Limited availability of contractors in rural locations, increasing travel costs for contractors further afield
  • Compliance with changes in legislation in Repairing Standards obligations for landlords 
 
The recent high levels of inflation and increase in insurance premiums for the past two years have also seen costs increase substantially across all areas of CHT business. 
 
How much is the rent increase?
CHT have worked to protect our tenants from the impact of rising costs by keeping our rent increases as low as we can in the past.  Now, given the financial challenges that CHT has faced over the past couple of years, CHT Board have given careful consideration as to the 8% increase we should apply to our rents for 2024/25. 
 
We appreciate that this is higher than previous years and our tenants should be reassured that the rents are still set at an affordable level.  The increase we are applying is comparable with other social and affordable housing providers in the Highlands as well as falling below the Local Housing Allowance, allowing CHT to continue to provide affordable housing.

Local Housing Allowance for 2024-25: Highland
   2 bed   £593.36
   3 bed   £693.17
https://www.gov.scot/publications/local-housing-allowance-rates-2024-2025/
 
Help and Support
If the tenant wishes to challenge the increase they can refer it to the rent officer who must apply a tapering formula to the increase. If the increase proposed by the landlord is higher than that allowed through the tapering formula then the rent officer will set the rent at the lower level. The tapering formula will only apply if the tenant challenges the increase. If they don’t then the amount proposed by the landlord will take effect from the end of the notice period.
Any rent increase notices issued on or before 31 March 2024 are still capped at 3%.
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CHT will continue to work hard with our tenants to ensure that the necessary support is available for our tenants where they need it.  If you think that an increase in your rent will impact on your financial circumstances, which will impact on your ability to pay your rent, please contact our Housing Management Team as soon as possible.  Other agencies who can provide support are also detailed in the enclosed factsheet and on our website, via the QR code below. 
For over a decade, proposals for energy efficiency requirements have changed several times. Unlike in England, there are currently no minimum EPC requirements for privately let properties in Scotland.  Scottish Government has now published a new proposal to improve the energy efficiency of all properties in Scotland – both in homes and non-domestic buildings - including:
  • by the end of 2028, private landlords will need to meet a new minimum energy efficiency standard (owner occupiers will need to meet the same minimum energy efficiency standard by the end of 2033, unless they have ended their use of polluting heating)
  • by the end of 2045, all building owners will need to have ended their use of polluting heating

Minimum energy efficiency standard
The Government is intending that this be a standard which can be met by installing a straightforward list of measures.  This list of measures would be developed to prioritise those that could have most impact for homes with the lowest amount of cost and disruption. Any home owner who had installed these measures – or as many of them as are feasible for the type of home – would be considered to meet the new standard. The consultation proposes that this list could be:
• 270 mm loft insulation;
• cavity wall insulation;
• draught-proofing;
• heating controls;
• 80 mm hot water cylinder insulation;
• Suspended floor insulation

It does not include more expensive or potentially disruptive measures such as solid wall insulation. It is recognised that there will be some properties for which some of the measures on the list are not relevant (such as properties with solid rather than cavity walls). Those properties would only have to comply with the measures on the list which are relevant to their property.

Polluting heating systems
Systems such as gas boilers, oil boilers and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) boilers, which burn fossil fuels when we use them, will need to be replaced, by 2045, with clean heating systems such as heat pumps, heat networks, electric storage heaters and other electric heating technologies which don’t produce any greenhouse gas emissions at the point of use.  All local authorities are required to produce a strategy report by the end of 2023 identifying heat network opportunities in their area and it is estimated that heat networks could supply about 17-34% of Scotland’s heat demand, with areas of high housing density being a primary focus for this technology. The prohibition on polluting heating will only apply to the main heating system(s) of a property.

It is intended that previous proposals to require PRS properties to achieve an EPC rating of C at change of tenancy from 2025 with all PRS properties then required to reach the same standard by 2028, will not now be taken forward.  The consultation paper can be read here. 
Information courtesy of Scottish Association of Landlords
​All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure their property meets the Tolerable and Repairing Standards at the start of a tenancy and at all times during a tenancy. From 1 March 2024 the Repairing Standard has been updated to add the following requirements:-
  • water pipes must be free of lead (where this cannot be ascertained water testing must be carried out to check for the presence of lead piping)
  • electrical installations must be protected by a residual current device (RCD)
  • properties must have a fixed space heating system (a permanent installation in the property which is plumbed or hard wired and capable of maintaining a temperature of 21⁰C in at least one room and 18⁰C elsewhere, when the outside temperature is minus 1⁰C.)
  • installations for fuels other than gas and electricity to be in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order
  • any common parts pertaining to the property must be able to be accessed and used safely
  • the property must have satisfactory provision for, and safe access to, a food storage area and food preparation space
  • where the property is in a tenement, common doors must be secure and fitted with satisfactory emergency exit locks and a secure entry system
CHT will be reviewing all it's properties that fall below this standard and taking on appropriate action.
Scottish Government published their proposals for reform in the residential rented sector in September 2023 – A New Deal for Tenants: Rented Sector Reform Proposals (the Consultation). The  Consultation details proposals for the private rented sector (PRS) and social rented sector (SRS), as well has some that would affect both.  
For the PRS, these include:
  • Rent control Local Authorities would be required to asses rents in their areas periodically and recommend whether Scottish Ministers should impose rent controls. Where it is recognised that rent controls are required in an area, this would remove the landlords right to reset rents between tenancies (some exemptions, still to be determined, could apply).
  • Ending joint tenancies PRT tenancies would no longer be "trapped" in a joint tenancy where one tenant wishes to end the agreement but does not have the permission of the other tenants.  One tenant would be able to give notice to end the tenancy for all tenants after a two month consultation period and terms would need to be negotiated with the landlord for tenants who wished to remain in the property. 
  • Personalisation of property PRT tenants would be able to make some modifications without consent eg: hanging pictures, and be able to request permission for modifications eg: painting walls, that a landlord could not unreasonably refuse, though they could apply conditions such as reinstating the property to as-let condition at the end of the tenancy.
  • Pets Similar to the above, tenants would have the right to request permission to keep a pet and a landlord would not be able to unreasonably refuse permission, again with conditions applied.
  • Unclaimed deposits Deposit schemes would be required to request alternative contact details from tenants when a deposit is lodged to reduce the number of deposits which go unclaimed at the end of the tenancy.
  • Greater protection during eviction The tribunal would be required to consider whether it is reasonable to delay the enforcement evictions to prevent particular hardship or harm to tenants. Some grounds would be exempt from this requirement such as anti-social/criminal behaviour and abandonment. The tribunal has always had the power to delay the enforcement of evictions but has rarely used that power in the past.
  • Phasing out assured/short assured tenancies the response questionnaire asks for views on setting a future date by which remaining assured and short assured tenancies should be phased out.
Information courtesy of Scottish Association of Landlords

It is still a huge issue across the Highlands, where it was already difficult to source contractors, to find availability of all trades and this at times can significantly impact our ability to action repairs as quickly as we would like.  Added to this, there are increased costs associated with parts and delivery as well as the availability of parts.

We are always looking for good local contractors and welcome recommendations from our tenants.  When reporting a repair, if you know of a reliable trade in your area, please let us know!  With heavy workloads, many no longer advertise and we rely on word of mouth in the communities where our properties are located. 
Cost of living continues to affect nearly everyone in one way or another and money does not stretch nearly as far it once did.  There are several organisations that can direct you to help that may be available if you find that you are struggling to pay your rent or other bills.
You can find links for organisations who may be able to help with energy efficiency here as well as copies of tenant factsheets that you may find useful