Scotland's shock new rent freeze policy announcement has left worried landlords in the dark, according to the country's largest letting agent.

The controversial plan '� including a rent freeze and an eviction ban until at least 31^st March to help tenants through the cost-of-living crisis - seems to have been made without appropriate planning or even any clear understanding of how the PRS operates, according to David Alexander, CEO of DJ Alexander.

Patrick Harvie MSP (pictured), the minister in charge of this policy, met John Blackwood of the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) this week but couldn't provide any details of how the policy would be implemented, how it would impact evictions and rent rises which are already underway, or when the legislation will be put before parliament, says Alexander.

'That the minister in charge of this policy seems to have little or no understanding of how it is to be implemented is both damning and shocking,'� he says.

'This all smacks of a thrown together policy to gain some publicity and deflect attention from the appointment of the new Prime Minister.'�

Alexander adds that another minister explained the lack of consultation with landlords before the announcement was to prevent rents being increased before the policy was implemented.

'As all landlords know, rents can only be increased in Scotland with three months' notice and tenants can appeal against any increase.

'The notion that this needed to be announced with no consultation with landlords highlights just how unaware the Scottish Government is of how their existing legislation operates and also their desperate need not to consult, not to be open, and to make decisions without any understanding of the consequences,'� he says.

SAL has also warned of dire consequences for the PRS if the policy goes ahead, labelling it an 'attack on landlords'�.