A leading Scottish estate agent has warned that rent controls risk disrupting a private rental market that has finally begun to stabilise.

ONS figures show average rents across Scotland increased by £10 between June 2025 and May 2026 to reach £1,009 per month - an annual increase of 1% at a time when the wider inflation rate was 2.9%. This was the lowest annual rise for a decade and more than 10% lower than the peak of 11.7% in August 2023 when rent controls were in place. Since rent controls ended last March, annual rent inflation in Scotland has fallen from 5.7%.

David Alexander, chief executive officer of DJ Alexander Scotland, says without their distorting impact, the market has sorted itself out and is producing rent increases in line with supply and demand.

“Over the last year more homes have become available which has reduced rent inflation, resulting in an annual rate more in line with the historic trend rather than the blip caused by the introduction of rent controls in September 2022,” he says.

Introduced

Under The Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 - expected to be introduced by next year - ministers will be able to designate parts of the country as Rent Control Areas where landlords can only increase rents in line with inflation (as measured under the Consumer Price Index) plus one percentage point, capped at 6% per year.

Interfering in the market always causes distortions, adds Alexander. “It is to everybody’s benefit that the PRS is left to meet its own level, producing a more balanced, steady period of prolonged growth in the coming years. Any proposed re-introduction of rent controls utilising the Housing Act would be completely unjustified given this level of rent inflation.”

SAL

Scottish Association of Landlords chief executive, John Blackwood, says any reports of stability in the private rented sector in Scotland are welcome, but the proof will be in how it impacts landlords, tenants, and everyone else involved in the PRS.

“It is imperative that the Scottish government works with the sector to increase confidence and supply in the sector so that we can play our role in fixing the housing emergency,” he tells LandlordZONE.

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