Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Act 2016

40 Procedure for designating a zone: consultation and information

(1) This section applies in relation to the making of regulations under section 37 which designate an area as a rent pressure zone.

(2) Before laying a draft of a Scottish statutory instrument containing the regulations before the Scottish Parliament, the Scottish Ministers must consult—

(a) persons appearing to the Ministers to represent the interests of persons who offer residential property for let within the area mentioned in subsection (4), and

(b) persons appearing to the Ministers to represent the interests of persons who are tenants of residential property within the area mentioned in subsection (4).

(3) Along with a draft of a Scottish statutory instrument containing the regulations, the Scottish Ministers must also lay before the Scottish Parliament a document which—

(a) sets out the evidence which leads them to believe that—

(i) rents payable within the proposed rent pressure zone are rising by too much,

(ii) the rent rises within the proposed zone are causing undue hardship to tenants, and

(iii) the local authority within whose area the proposed zone lies is coming under increasing pressure to provide housing or subsidise the cost of housing as a consequence of the rent rises within the proposed zone,

(b) summarises the responses they received to the consultation carried out in accordance with subsection (2).

(4) The area referred to in subsection (2) is that of the local authority within whose area the proposed rent pressure zone lies.