Hostility from politicians is pushing landlords out of the Scottish rental market, new research has found.

The Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) found that 53% planned to reduce their business or leave the sector entirely in the next five years, with 79% of them citing government and political hostility as the primary reason.

While this was slightly down on the 56% planning to reduce their portfolio size in 2024, only 34% had similar plans back in February 2022.

SAL’s survey also found that 8.5% of members’ properties had been withdrawn from the sector during 2024, while last year’s survey revealed that 6.4% of members’ properties were withdrawn during 2023.

Extrapolating these figures across the PRS suggests that about 52,225 homes (14.9% of 350,500 homes on the landlord registration database) could have been lost from the sector in the last two years but which was not yet reflected in landlord registration figures due to the three-year renewal cycle.

Rent controls

The Housing (Scotland) Bill currently going through Parliament will require councils to study rent levels in their areas at least once every five years and grant powers to Scottish Ministers to implement rent controls and issue limits on rent increases.  

“Political hostility has a real and lasting impact on market confidence and the willingness of landlords to continue in the PRS,” says chief executive John Blackwood. “Mounting pressure and increased animosity directed towards our sector has had the predictable consequence of pushing hardworking landlords out of the PRS.”

Meanwhile, a survey of landlords in England by Octane Capital reveals a less dramatic but still worrying picture, with 21% planning to reduce portfolio size in 2025. The Renters’ Rights Bill was given as the number one reason for doing so, particularly the abolition of Section 21.