Last year, the TDS Charitable Foundation and the SDS Charitable Trust both ran national representative surveys to examine people’s experience of living in the private rented sector in England and Scotland respectively. Although Scottish tenants are faring slightly better in some areas, the surveys show, despite successive reforms to the private rented sector in Scotland over the last few years, remarkedly similar challenges exist in relation to affordability, security of tenure and property conditions. This indicates that legislative change alone is not sufficient to solve the challenges facing the sector in both nations.
Who lives in the private rented sector in England and Scotland?
The two surveys revealed that the demographic profile of tenants in both nations is broadly similar in terms of age, ethnic background, employment, income levels and health status. One notable difference is in types of property, however. In Scotland, 68% of tenants live in flats and 29% in houses, compared to England where 44% live in flats and 48% in houses. This reflects the large number of tenements that were built in Scottish cities in the 19th and 20th centuries, and the fact that 66% of tenants in Scotland live in an urban area (the proportion is similar in England).
The Scottish tenant survey departed from the English survey in recording the type of tenancy of the respondents. It found that two in five tenants have a Private Residential Tenancy, a new open-ended tenancy introduced in Scotland in 2017, which replaced the assured tenancy regime for new private lets. There are similar plans to bring in open-ended tenancies in England with the Renters’ Rights Bill currently going through parliament.
Affordability challenges
In September 2022, the Scottish Government introduced the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) Act, a temporary measure that was intended to help with the affordability challenges that tenants were facing as a result of the cost of living crisis. The Act, which ended in March 2024, capped rent increases at 3% for existing tenancies.
However, the Scottish tenant survey supports other research in showing that private renters in Scotland are still struggling with affordability. In this, it reveals a similar picture to England, where there has been no legislative intervention on rents. For example:
In Scotland, 32% of tenants are struggling to afford the rent, compared to 35% in England.
Nearly half (49%) of Scottish tenants cut back on essentials like food and heating to pay rent, slightly less than the 55% of tenants in England facing similar sacrifices.
39% of private renters in Scotland and 45% in England are struggling to afford their utility bills.
These figures show the Scottish tenants are faring slightly better than those in England, but that affordability remains a critical issue for private renters in both countries.
Access and security of tenure
The survey findings provide some valuable insight on access and security within the private rented sector in Scotland and England. Tenancies are relatively short-lived in both nations, but more Scottish tenants (60%) have moved into their current homes within the last two years than in England (40%), indicating a higher turnover. Most moves are driven by changing personal circumstances, but a significant proportion—40% in Scotland and 35% in England—are forced by issues like poor property conditions, unaffordable rents, or eviction.
Tenants in both nations report significant challenges in finding suitable and affordable properties. Over 70% of tenants experienced obstacles during their last property search, with affordability being the most commonly cited issue.
One notable difference relates to feelings of security. Three-quarters of tenants in Scotland report feeling secure in their homes, while 40% of tenants in England said that they worry they could be asked to leave their homes at any time, and only 52% feel safe from eviction. Although the question was worded differently in the two surveys, this seems to reveal a greater sense of security in Scotland, which is likely due to removal of “no fault” evictions in 2017. The incoming Renters’ Rights Bill in England proposes the same reform.
Property conditions and reporting issues
Property conditions in Scotland and England appear to be similar. Over half of tenants in both nations rate their accommodation as good or excellent, with 13% in England and 10% in Scotland rating it as poor. However, around 60% of tenants in both countries had experienced a problem with the quality or condition of their rented property in the past six months. In most cases, tenants are reporting these issues, and they are being addressed by landlords or letting agents, either fully or in part.
A small minority of tenants will not report issues to landlords or letting agents. In England, the main barriers preventing tenants reporting issues were fear of retaliation from the landlord, in the form of eviction (24%) or rent increases (24%), and concerns about not being perceived as a “good tenant” (24%). In Scotland, uncertainty (28%) and self-help (25%) were the main reasons, but 24% of tenants also worried that they might be asked to leave by the landlord, despite the abolition of “no fault” evictions in Scotland in 2017. This suggests that a lack of awareness amongst tenants about their new rights may still be impacting feelings of security.
Even when tenants make complaints, few in either nation engage with higher authorities if their landlord or letting agent fails to act. Among those tenants facing unaddressed issues, only 20% of tenants in England sought help from their local council or a redress scheme and 13% in Scotland from their local council or the First-tier tribunal. This low engagement in Scotland is particularly notable, as the system for seeking redress was greatly simplified in 2017, in contrast to the system in England, which remains incredibly complex.
The need for tenant education
This low uptake of redress mechanisms among tenants is driven, at least in part, by a lack of understanding and awareness. Forty-five per cent of tenants in Scotland and 50% in England said they would not know where to go next if they had a housing problem that a landlord or letting agent failed to address.
The findings of the tenant surveys make it clear that while legislative reforms like those introduced in Scotland can bring some improvement, they are insufficient on their own. As well measures to increase housing supply, there is a pressing need for greater tenant education to improve understanding and awareness of rights and available redress mechanisms. Empowering tenants with knowledge is key to improving their experiences in the private rented sector.
About the research
The Voice of the Tenant Survey (Scotland) was launched in December 2024. This first wave surveyed 1,000 tenants from across Scotland who rent from a letting agent or private landlord. Data collection took place between 23rd August - 12th September 2024.
The fourth wave of the Voice of the Tenant Survey for England was published in June 2024. A total of 2,021 tenants were surveyed and fieldwork ran from 18th - 26th March 2024.
Both are representative national surveys, repeated annually, which focus on issues related to affordability, tenure security and property conditions in the private rented sector.
