The Scottish Housing Secretary's decision to exempt key categories from rent controls will offer investors more certainty and help boost the supply of homes, property experts have said.
Mairi McAllan told MSPs she would remove mid-market rent and build-to-rent properties from the pricing mechanism in order to “protect and promote investment".
The announcement is part of McAllan's response to the housing emergency, which also includes investing up to £4.9billion in new affordable housing over the next four years.
Scottish Property Federation interim director Robin Blacklock, Daily Business reports, said the announcement was a "positive and reassuring step for the industry".
He added: “The exemption for mid-market rent and build-to-rent (BtR) offers some long-awaited certainty for those investing in new homes for rent, which are vital to expanding Scotland’s rental housing supply.
“We also support the target to achieve a minimum 10% year-on-year increase in housing delivery across all tenures over the next three years and welcome the government’s ambition to secure £4.9billion investment into the delivery of new affordable homes, which recognises the important role that private investment can play.
“These moves, combined with an ‘emergency-led’ approach to planning delivery will be critical to providing certainty and boosting Scotland’s housing supply.”
Stage 3 of the Housing (Scotland) Bill is expected to provide further clarity on other aspects of the legislation at the end of the month.
Read more on the Daily Business website.