Fact sheets and FAQs

On 26 March 2024, the Scottish Government published the Housing (Scotland) Bill. The Bill is a significant piece of legislation that will have implications for letting agents and their landlords. Here we answer some of the most frequent questions about the proposals contained in the Bill.

After the invasion of Ukraine, the UK Government took steps to address growing concerns of money laundering and other economic crime from Russian and foreign entities operating in the UK or with UK companies. This led to the introduction of the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act in March 2022.

Under the Immigration Act 2014, since 1 February 2016, all landlords of private rented accommodation in England have been required to carry out Right to Rent checks for new tenancy agreements to determine whether all adult occupiers aged 18 and over have the right to live in the UK.

The Bill was published on 11 September 2024 with the aim of changing the law about rented homes in England. The legislation will abolish fixed term assured tenancies and assured short hold tenancies, whilst delivering on the Labour Party’s manifesto commitment to transform the experience of private renting—including by ending Section 21 ‘no fault’ evictions.

The Bill aims to reform rental laws in England. It includes protections for tenants against unfair rent increases, clearer grounds for eviction, and the introduction of a landlords’ ombudsman service. The Bill also addresses rental discrimination, the right to keep pets, and enforces the Decent Homes Standard.

The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 makes a number of changes which will affect long term homeownership for leaseholds and homeowners on managed estates. Key changes within the Act include restricting the granting of new long residential leases for houses.

One in five properties in England (4.98 million) and one in six in Wales (235,000) are leasehold. The Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 follows the Leasehold Reform (Ground Rent) Act 2022 and makes a number of changes which will affect long term homeownership for leaseholds and homeowners on managed estates.

The Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) Regulations 1992 apply to Wales and some aspects of the regulations were updated by the Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2017.

The Building Safety Act 2022 aims to provide more rights, powers and protections for residents of high-risk buildings and reduce the chance of death in the event a fire breaks out. The Act establishes specific duties for individuals within high-risk buildings to manage building safety risks.

On 6 September 2022, the Scottish Government set out plans to tackle the cost-of-living crisis that included emergency legislation to introduce a freeze on rents and a moratorium on evictions for both the private and social rented sectors.

The aim of the legislation is to reducing money laundering and increase the transparency of business operations in the UK. More recent regulations have been largely driven in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, where the focus has been on overseas actors.

A ministerial working group, established in 2020, sought to review the existing issues with cladding and found that the process for remediation was overly complex and was preventing the sale of homes. The Act is designed to help facilitate more buildings to have their cladding remediated to higher standards, so they are less likely to lead to further loss of life in the event of a fire.

The Charities (Dispositions of Land: Designated Advisers and Reports) Regulations 2023 remove restrictions on who can sell land for charitable organisations. Our FAQ includes minor additional changes introduced by The Charities Act 2022 (Commencement No. 3, Consequential, Saving and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2024.

In Scotland, the Tolerable Standard states that properties should have an adequate piped supply of wholesome drinking water. Statutory guidance on the Repairing Standard, which came into effect on 1 March 2024, now specifies that the property should be free of lead pipes from the boundary stopcock to the kitchen tap.

The levy was announced at Budget 2020 and the Economic Crime (Anti-Money Laundering) Levy Regulations 2022 were published on 11 March 2022. The Regulations came into force on 1 April 2022.

Spray Polyurethane Foam (SPF), commonly referred to as spray foam, is a liquid material used to insulate homes. An alternative to traditional building insulation, it's especially advantageous for improving energy efficiency through insulating difficult and tight spaces. However, consumers should carefully consider the impact it can have on valuations, lenders decisions and surveys.

The Fire Safety Order was introduced in October 2006 and covers the ongoing fire safety management of a building while occupied.

The Repairing Standard was introduced through the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 and is the minimum level of repair a house must achieve to be used as privately rented accommodation.

The purpose of the Ivory Act is to prohibit commercial activities concerning ivory in the UK and the import and re-export of ivory for commercial purposes to and from the UK. This includes intra-EU trade to and from the UK.