Loophole in Scotland’s rent controls sees new tenants facing largest rises in UK

Rent cap limited to 3%, but landlords can go higher when drawing up new tenancy agreement

A loophole in Scotland's temporary rent controls has seen private landlords raise rents for new tenancies more than anywhere else in the UK, data reveals.

In an effort to tackle the housing crisis, the Scottish government this spring introduced a temporary rent cap limiting annual rises to 3% in most cases. But it allowed landlords to go higher if they were drawing up a new tenancy agreement.