At the start of May 2025, Phase 1 of the Renters’ Rights Act came into effect, bringing with it a wave of new rules and procedures that have radically changed the regulatory landscape for landlords and letting agents.
This phase of the Act led to a lot of fundamental changes to how landlords and tenants operate, including:
- Abolishing Section 21 evictions.
- Eliminating almost all fixed-term tenancies in favour of Assured Periodic Tenancies.
- Changing grounds for eviction and possession.
- Only allowing one rent increase per year to the market rate.
- Outlawing rent in advance.
- Banning rental bidding.
- Outlawing discrimination against benefit claimants or parents with children.
- Requiring landlords to consider requests to have a pet in the property.
- Extending enforcement on rent repayment.
There are other aspects of the Act yet to be implemented, but another concern some landlords have is the proposal by some to implement more stringent rent controls to avoid unaffordable rents and people being priced out of places they call home.
They have long been controversial, but could they end up being implemented across Britain?
To understand the risks and potential benefits for landlords and tenants alike, it is important to know what they are, why they are controversial, and how landlords can prepare for more regulation of their properties.
What Are Rent Controls?
At a broad level, rent controls are any form of regulation of the private rental sector, but they almost always refer specifically to rent price regulations. This is how they are described in Scotland.
Rent controls limit the amount of rent a landlord can charge beyond the typical limitations imposed by the market.
It can either be a strict amount or a freeze at the current rate, with a provision to increase rent subject to inflation. It can also be either a strict freeze or only affect tenants currently living in their property, with new tenants subject to a rent increase.
There are a lot of different ways in which they are implemented, and their effects tend to be localised based on an area’s needs. In some cases, rent controls are strict to stop spiralling rent hikes, whilst in other areas they would be less restrictive in order to avoid the risk of out-of-control rent increases.
Could Rent Controls Be Seen In Britain?
In Scotland, the legal instruments needed to implement rent controls already exist in Scotland as part of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025, an alternative form of legislation to the Renters’ Rights Act in England and Wales.
Depending on your definition of rent controls, the “once per year up to market rate” provision could be considered a form of rent control, although exactly how much impact it will have in reality remains to be seen.
Rent controls have long been controversial, as whilst they help tenants stay secure in their homes when demand is high but supply is low, they are also believed by economists to cause further falls in supply, causing greater problems for people trying to move into an area.
At worst, it can lead to further fragmentation of the rental market and a two-tier system where people either need to wait for affordable housing or pay a significant premium to enter the market immediately.
