Regulations drive more landlords to seek help

SAL chief executive John Blackwood said the organisation had seen an overall increase in demand for its services. Picture: Contributed

Scotland's largest landlord organisation has reported a sharp surge in membership due to landlords seeking to understand and implement a raft of new regulations affecting the private rented sector (PRS).

The Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) said membership numbers increased by almost 20 per cent in the last 12 months among letting agents, individual landlords and businesses.

The organisation attributed the growth to the recent measures brought in to regulate the PRS in Scotland, with landlords and letting agents wanting to ensure they comply.

Since 2016, new regulations introduced for PRS in Scotland have concerned areas including deposit protection, electrical safety, water safety, and the registration and training of letting agents.

A new type of tenancy, the private residential tenancy, also came into force in December 2017.

SAL chief executive John Blackwood said the organisation had seen an overall increase in demand for its services.

He said: “We have seen membership increase, an increase in calls to our helpline, full rooms at our regular branch meetings, sold out training sessions and a record number of downloads of the resources we provide on our website.

“We hope that this activity will ensure that landlords and letting agents are fully up to date with changes to the rules and are able to continue to provide high quality accommodation across Scotland.”

The SAL operates 14 branches throughout Scotland.