Making changes to let property: equality impact assessment

Equality Impact Assessment Results

Title of Policy:

Part 3 Housing (Scotland) Bill (“the Bill”): Making changes to let property.

Summary of aims and desired outcomes of Policy:

Measures in the Bill are designed to create a framework to enable tenants with a private residential tenancy greater rights to make certain prescribed changes (category 1) without the consent of their landlord, and the right to request certain other prescribed changes (category 2) to their rented home that cannot be unreasonably refused. Category 2 request can only be made after a tenant has lived in the let property for more than 6 months; and landlords will be able to set reasonable conditions for approval.

This is intended to:

• improve the renting experience for private tenants with a private residential tenancy by giving them more control over personalising their home, supporting better mental health and wellbeing;
• more closely align the rights of private tenants with other tenures while continuing to take account of the differing legal frameworks; and
• seek to appropriately balance the strengthened rights for tenants with sufficient protections for landlords.

Directorate:

Directorate for Local Government and Housing: Better Homes Division: Housing Legislation and Reform Unit.