From Housing statistics: Scottish Landlord Register Data published today, the above data suggesting a robust, largely unchanging picture to further expose the ‘housing emergency‘ narrative, so popular with critics of the Scottish Government, as mere propaganda.
Source: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-landlord-register-data/
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There is a housing emergency, but the media present it largely from the perspective of the ‘rentier class’. Their ‘typical’ person is usually the widow who is renting out the family home to make ends meet, rather than the reality of large property owning cartels often based ‘offshore’ or overseas. It is they who control the supply of housing – both for rent and for sale
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I was unable to complete the comment which I had started above, so I will continue.
These cartels manipulate the supply of properties and of land so that it is always less than the demand for housing, and thereby force prices up.
Not only do we need rent controls which are being implemented, but we also need land and property taxes to break the monopolies and make more land and housing available – that is, we need to increase supply. We also need to re-empower councils and public bodies to build and offer housing for sale and for rent.
We also need to change the electoral system so that an incoming Tory/Reform/LibDem/Blue Labour government cannot sweep away these things, by attaining a majority government I’m a minority of votes.
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‘a robust, largely unchanging picture’
From the BBC News website’s Scotland section on April 1, 2023: ‘Rental health: Scotland’s landlords versus the rent freeze’, we’re given this insight:
’David Alexander, founder and boss of DJ Alexander, which includes an agency for managing 1200 homes in Scotland on behalf of landlords, says some are choosing to cash in and put their investment into other assets. For every one client he signs up, he says three are exiting the market.’ (my emphasis)
According to Landlord Register data, in April 2023 there were 238,781 registered landlords and 341,110 registered properties. In the latest statistical release (Feb 2026): 231,287 registered landlords and 350,912 properties. So no decline in rental property. numbers, the opposite.
However, there seems to be a lot going on regarding the supply homes to rent in Scotland at present. This includes a growing presence in the market of ‘build to rent’ projects. According to the website of the Edinburgh-based property market consultancy Scarlett: ‘The Build to Rent (BTR) pipeline in Scotland has now increased to over 13,840 homes. Glasgow makes up over half of supply at 7,773, followed by Edinburgh 4,898 and Aberdeen 1,094’.
The total jumps to 14,467 when the pipeline includes ‘intermediate rent’ properties in Edinburgh, governed by a special agreement between the city council and property developers. Scarlett’s website indicates that across Scotland, c. 5,000 properties are already ‘operating’, with another c. 8,300 with planning approval.
Anyone know if these BTR schemes are captured by the Scottish Landlord Register?
And from Scottish Housing News (18 Feb, 2026): ‘Opinion: Rent control exemptions good news for property investors and developers’ – ‘The Scottish Government’s planned exemptions from rent control measures within the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 signal a more stable and investable landscape for developers, investors and funders, offering a timely catalyst for boosting housing supply across Scotland’ and ‘Under proposed new regulations, from 1 April 2026 restrictions on increasing rent would not apply to the owners of certain “build to rent” (BTR) and “mid-market rent’”(MMR) properties.’
The same article adds: ‘Last month, the Scottish Government announced its intention to set up More Homes Scotland, a new national housing agency which will focus on “large-scale affordable housing projects; rural and island housing; acquiring, preparing and releasing land; enabling infrastructure work to unlock stalled sites; and closer working with the Scottish National Investment Bank to make best use of private finance”.
The Scottish Housing News opinion piece states: ‘The exemption of BTR and MMR from rent control measures and the introduction of More Homes Scotland is to be welcomed and sends a strong message to investors and developers in the property industry that Scotland is a supportive environment for build-to-rent and mid-market rental investment.’
Source https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/opinion-rent-control-exemptions-good-news-for-property-investors-and-developers
I don’t know enough about the market but intuitively, an exemption for BTR and MMR properties from rent control measures will need careful monitoring by local and national government to ensure tenants are appropriately protected.
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Dodgy article on the BBC website.
Headline – “Labour drops election candidate after fraud charge”
Now within the article it explains that:
“Scottish Labour has dropped its election candidate for a key Holyrood constituency after he was charged with fraud.
However further down in this same article on this Labour candidate is also this information:
“Hours after he was dropped the SNP suspended it’s group convenor on North Lancashire council, Tracey Garragher and dropped her as a list candidate for Central Scotland and Lothians West”.
The article then goes onto explain why she was dropped and it also adds information on another SNP candidate who had stepped down.
However why was this information on two SNP candidates within an article that was supposed to be about a candidate for Labour being dropped by them.
Especially as there is already two separate articles on their website on both of these SNP (now former) candidates.
(The SNP Tracey G article mentions the Labour candidate being dropped but not in as great a detail as when she was mentioned in the Labour candidate article).
Main Scottish page and Scottish Politics page top story on both pages:
“SNP candidate ditched over handling of Linden complaints”
Scottish Politics page only:
“Former SNP candidate accused of sex offences”
Note also that the Tracey Garragher article, now the top story on both Scottish main page and Scottish politics page, was added as an article before the Labour candidate article.
Yet now the Labour candidate article is the 4th article on the Scotland main page and the 2nd article on the Scottish politics page.
Surely as the newer story the Labour candidate article should be their top story as an article……instead it looks as if it is descending as a story.
Time now 14.57PM
The Tracey G article updated on their website 32 minutes ago (to now show she has been dropped as a candidate).
Labour candidate article added onto site 19 minutes ago.
Liz S
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More dodgy behaviour by the BBC
Where is the latest and breaking news about suspended Labour MP Joani Reid on any of their Scottish pages of their BBC website ?
Omission being their speciality of course in them trying to protect Labour in Scotland.
Will they, the BBC, eventually be forced to add it onto their website or just keep ignoring it and filling their pages instead with even more #SNPBAD articles.
Amusingly MSM Monitor observed this in a post today:
“Joani Reid can think herself lucky it was nuclear submarine captains she was allegedly frolicking with and not the captain of a Calmac ferry”.
The latest alleged scandalous story is being reported elsewhere as being this:
“The Allegations: An MP who was present on the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme visit stated that Reid was “extremely drunk” and was “all over” a senior naval officer during a drinks reception in the officers’ mess.
“The senior naval officer involved stepped back from his role following the investigation, though the Ministry of Defence stated they were confident no security breach had occurred”
Hard to believe this type of allegation really, that is one from the self appointed and very vocal moral Crusader , Joani Reid, who is often known to pass judgement upon the SNP in various attacks by her upon them as the Scottish government.
A hard lesson she must learn, is that when one puts oneself out there so conspicuously (as in being on most TV channels and various newspapers incessantly carping about the SNP as the Scottish government) then eventually the spotlight may shine on you, but not in a good way.
Medicine-Taste of- your own…..springs to mind……says Yoda.
Liz S
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