Landlords are being urged to make use of a new procedure which will allow them to gain access to their properties to carry out essential work, helping to maintain the standards of stock in the Private Rented Sector (PRS) in Scotland.

The new regulations, which come after a long campaign by the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL), will allow landlords to apply to the Private Rented Housing Panel (PRHP) to gain a right of entry to one of their properties where they wish to check it meets the minimum repairing standards or to carry out any work required to meet the repairing standard.

The procedure, which comes in to force today, was granted by the Scottish Parliament under the Private Rented Housing Panel (Landlord Applications) (Scotland) Regulations 2015.

John Blackwood, chief executive of SAL, said: “The Scottish Association of Landlords has been campaigning for this change for a number of years and we are delighted it has now been enacted. By putting in place a clear procedure where they can apply for a right of access to check a property meets the minimum repairing standards or to carry out any work required to meet the repairing standard, landlords will be able to ensure homes are in top condition.

“The overwhelming majority of tenants quickly inform landlords of any problems with a property and they are fixed in good time. However, in rare instances where problems arise, a tenant can refuse a landlord access even to fix a problem which has resulted in a property falling below legal standards. This inevitably leads to further deterioration of the property, not only causing additional costs for landlords but also delaying a home being rented to a new tenant whilst work is being carried out.

“These new measures put in place a clear procedure for a landlord to apply to the PRHP to gain access to the property so they can be properly maintained without compromising the tenant’s security of tenure.”

@scotlandlord