Landlord Registration

Landlord Registration

 All private landlords, unless exempt, must apply for registration with their local authority, under Part 8 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004. The main aim of registration is to make sure that all private landlords in Scotland are ‘fit and proper’ to let property and that the property meets the required standards. For more details regarding those standards, the Private Rented Housing Panel has been incorporated into the Housing and Property Chamber First-Tier Tribunal for Scotland and further information may be found at www.mygov.scot/renting-your-property-out/ or www.housingandpropertychamber.scot/ Registration will help local authorities to ensure that landlords comply with legislation and meet the required standards. Registered landlords will be fully compliant with legislation and will not be prosecuted for failure to register.

It is an offence to let or advertise for let any property without either applying for or being registered. The ultimate sanction is the owner(s) being reported to the Procurator Fiscal, getting a criminal record and being fined up to a maximum £50,000 fine for operating as an unregistered landlord.

You can register on-line via:- www.landlordregistrationscotland.gov.uk

You must apply to register before advertising property, existing landlords must include their registration number within the advert.

New landlords who do not yet have a registration number but have applied for registration must display the application number, beginning HIG, within the advert along with the wording ‘Landlord registration application pending’.

 

 Exemptions:-

 Resident landlord

• Letting to family members, the definition of a family member being:-

spouse or civil partner, parent, grandparent, child, grandchild, brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece

• Holiday lets, however, you will require a Short term Let license, further information can be found at Applying for a licence | Short Term Lets | The Highland Council

• Agricultural or crofting tenancies occupied by the agricultural or crofting tenant, any other properties let as part of the tenancy which are then sub-let to a 3rd party will need to be registered
• Registered social landlords

• Houses providing care services governed by the Care Inspectorate regulation

• Houses managed by religious orders

Full details of all exemptions can be found at www.landlordregistrationscotland.gov.uk

Landlord registration obligations

In order to meet the landlord registration obligations there is “prescribed information” which landlords must provide when applying for a new registration or to renew their existing registration. This information will help determine whether an applicant is “fit and proper” to let houses.

Prescribed information comes under The Private Landlord Registration (Information) (Scotland) Regulations 2019.

The aim is to improve standards in the Private Rented Sector (PRS) by

• raising landlords’ awareness about their legal responsibilities
• making sure landlords declare whether or not they comply with their legal responsibilities about property management and care.

Please note that this means all private landlords self-declaring and evidencing (when requested) that their certifications, for example, gas safety are current and valid.

During the application process Landlords will be asked about the following:

• The Tolerable and Repairing Standards – landlords should be aware of their duties under the Tolerable and Repairing Standards.
• Gas safety – all rental properties that use gas, must have a current gas safety certificate.
• Electrical safety – all rental properties must have an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR).
• Electrical appliance test – all rental properties with portable appliances, supplied by the landlord, including white goods, must have a Portable Appliance Test (PAT).
• Fire, smoke and heat detection – all rental properties must have adequate smoke / heat detection.  All alarms should interlink
• Carbon monoxide detection – all rental properties with a gas supply, or a solid fuel appliance must have a carbon monoxide (CO) detector.
• Private water supply – landlords with a private water supply to their property must tell their tenants about this, risk assess and test the water supply to make sure it’s safe to drink. Scottish Water supply the majority of properties in Scotland; only 3% of properties in Scotland have a private water supply.
• Energy performance – all rental properties with a few exemptions must have a valid Energy Performance Certificate (EPC).
• Legionella risk assessment – all rental properties must have a risk assessment carried out, and landlords must tell their tenants about the risks of legionella and give advice on how to minimise these risks.
• Rental property insurance – all rental flats or properties in a tenement must have adequate insurance in place.
• Common repairs – all landlords must be aware of their obligations surrounding communal repairs.
• Tenancy deposits – Where a deposit is taken it must be lodged within a deposit scheme and landlords should be aware of and have met their tenancy deposit obligations.

These regulations do not place any new duties on a landlord but makes sure they declare they are meeting their legal responsibilities.

 

Landlord registration fees

When you apply to be a landlord you are required to pay a fee. The fee covers the administrative costs of delivering landlord registration services.

The fee is broken down into a principal fee and a property fee. The correct fee must be paid when you apply for registration.

 

Available exemptions or discounts are automatically applied:

• HMO licence holders will receive a 100% discount on the principal and property fee, however, any other properties that do not have an HMO licence will be charged the property fee of £18 per property
• 100% discount for Scottish-registered charities
• Joint owners receive a 100% discount on the principal and property fee for jointly owned properties
• Landlords who own properties in more than one local authority area will receive a 50% consecutive area discount when applying online only

Please note: the fees paid are an application fee and are non-refundable

Principal and property fees explained

Application Type

Application with a single local authority	£80.00
Two or more applications with different local authorities	£40.00 per local authority
Property cost for each property rented out by the landlord	£18.00
Late application fee	£160.00

Other fees

Late application fee

 

You must renew your registration every 3 years if you wish to continue to act as a landlord. If you do not renew your registration by the expiry date a late application fee of £160 is automatically applied to your registration. The late application fee also applies to unregistered landlords who have received two or more requests to register from the local authority

Please note: Late application fees do not have any discount applied.

Property Management

If you use a letting agent to manage your property they should be registered on the Letting Agent Register.  They should provide you with their Letting Agent Registration Number which you should include within your application.

 

If someone else manages your property

If your property is managed by someone who is not a letting agent, such as a family member or power of attorney they’ll need to register with the local authority on the Landlord Register as an agent and pay the same principal fee. The same discounts apply.

You’ll be liable for the fee as part of your application if your agent:

• is not registered
• has not submitted an application to be registered

 

Fines and penalties

If you rent out a property without being a registered landlord, you could be:

• fined up to £50,000
• banned from being registered for up to 5 years
• served with a rent penalty notice effectively making it unlawful for your tenants to pay rent and unlawful for you to collect rent, this will be the case until such time as the notice has been revoked

Antisocial Behaviour

If you’re renting your property out, you have responsibility for resolving any antisocial behaviour that happens in and around the home.  This means if your tenants or their visitors are causing trouble, you have to try to put a stop to it.

If your tenant or a visitor of your tenant behaves in an anti-social manner, you could be served with an anti-social behaviour notice. If you fail to comply with the terms of the notice, you could:

• be fined up to £5,000
• be subject to a management control order where your local council will take control of the property for up to 1 year and receive any rent

You could also be fined up to £1,000 if you:

• give the council false or misleading information
• don’t give all the information you’re asked for
• don’t tell your local council of any changes to the information you have given
• don’t tell the council when you appoint an agent to act on your behalf

Information you will need

You will need the following information to complete your application or renew your registration.

Contact details

• Phone number
• Email address

You must keep your contact details up to date. This information will be used to remind you to renew before your current registration expires.

Address details

• Your addresses for the past 5 years
• Addresses of all your rental properties

Agents or letting agents

• Details of any person or business managing your property on your behalf

Other owners

Details of all owners, including their contact details and landlord registration numbers (if already registered).

All owners of a property must individually:

• register
• renew

A lead owner of a property cannot apply to be registered or renew an existing registration on behalf of other owners. If a co-owner fails to renew their registration in time, they must pay the late application fee.

About you

• Any criminal convictions and court or tribunal judgements
• Repairing standards enforcements orders (RSEOs), issued to you or your tenants

Payment

• A credit or debit card to pay for any fees