Professor John Robertson OBA

In the Herald last year [January 2024] and across Scottish media, we saw versions of this scare story suggesting a crisis in private rented housing supply and a consequent impact on homelessness:

Scotland has become the only part of Great Britain where sales of properties by landlords has gone up, amid claims that government rent curbs are forcing them out.

As with their reports on ferries, it’s not true. From Housing statistics: Scottish Landlord Register data published today, we see contrary evidence of increasing private rented properties.

As their Martin Williams wrote the above, in January 2024, the average number of landlords and registered properties had gone up from 238 590 and 338 909, in 2022, to 238 687 and 342 224 – nearly 4 000 additional properties to rent.

By 2025, the average number of properties is now up at 350 813, 12 000 more than in 2022 and 8 000 more than in 2023.

Source: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-landlord-register-data/