SNP 'reforms' forcing ten landlords to quit every day

Published: 20:12, 12 July 2026 | Updated: 20:12, 12 July 2026 Ten landlords are quitting every day in the wake of draconian SNP pro-tenant reforms, official figures have revealed. Almost 3,000 properties disappeared from Scotland’s private rental market in the six months after the new Housing Act came on to the statute book last November. The legislation opens the door to fresh rent caps, makes it harder to evict non-payers and gives tenants the right to alter properties and keep pets. Now there are fears that the squeeze could force up rents for Scots already facing a cost-of-living crisis – the exact opposite of the SNP’s intentions. Scottish Conservative housing spokesman Tim Eagle said: ‘The SNP are doing untold damage to Scotland’s rental market. The longer ministers cling to these failed policies, the more landlords will walk away, the fewer homes will be available, and the higher rents will go. ‘It’s yet another SNP policy that’s backfired spectacularly.’ The Housing (Scotland) Act was backed by the SNP, Greens, Labour and the Lib Dems when it passed through Holyrood last autumn. But new Scottish Government data shows that by May of this year, the total number of registered landlords had shrunk by 2,041 from 232,706 to 230,665. Increasing numbers of landlords are finding the figures for rental income don't add up John Blackwell said SAL had warned about the negative impact of the Housing Act And the amount of properties available for rent contracted by 2,958 from 350,637 to 347,679. While it’s unclear which areas have seen the market diminish most, there have been rent rises in several regions above the current 3 per cent rate of inflation. West Lothian prices have surged 8.1 per cent in the past year, according to the Office for National Statistics. Meanwhile, in Dumfries and Galloway they have climbed 5.3 per cent, Ayrshire 4.8 per cent, East Dunbartonshire 4.6 per cent, West Dunbartonshire, the Highlands 3.7 per cent and Glasgow 3.3 per cent. The controversial measures are the latest attempt by the SNP and Greens to tinker with the property market. Their rent cap between October 2022 and March 2025 was blamed by some for forcing up housing costs in parts of the Central Belt. The government declared a housing emergency in 2024 but has continually missed its own targets for building affordable homes. Meanwhile, the number of homeless people on waiting lists is soaring as our laxer rules have made Scotland a magnet for refugees and others relocating from various parts of the UK. Live applications rose 4 per cent last year to 33,006 and more than 18,000 families are stuck in temporary accommodation. Scottish Association of Landlords chief executive John Blackwood said: ‘We warned that the Housing Act would have a negative impact on housing supply and it turns out that our concerns were justified. ‘We strongly encourage the Scottish Government to work directly with landlords to restore confidence in the market so that landlords are incentivised to invest further.’ A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The Housing Act introduced a national system of long-term, evidence-based rent controls, designed to help stabilise rents in areas where market rents have been increasing particularly steeply, whilst protecting the property rights of landlords and supporting continued investment to maintain the vital supply and quality of homes for rent.’