Housing Rents and Subsidies (Scotland) Act 1975

9 Annual limit on private sector rent increases

(1) Notwithstanding any registration of a rent, or any rent agreement, which (in either case) permits the rent of a dwelling-house to be increased above the existing amount payable under a registration or rent agreement, the total of the rent payable under a regulated tenancy in a relevant period shall not, by virtue of a notice of increase or rent agreement taking effect at or after the commencement of this Act, be increased by more than £78 above the rent which would be payable in a period of twelve months at the rate at which it was payable for the last rental period beginning before the relevant period ; and sections 7 and 8 of this Act shall have effect accordingly in relation to the rent payable for any rental period beginning at or after such commencement.

(2) In this section, " relevant period " means—

(a) in a case where the rent previously payable as aforesaid was in respect of a rent registered before the commencement of this Act, the period of 12 months beginning with such commencement, or any subsequent period of 12 months beginning with the anniversary of such commencement;

(b) in a case where the rent previously payable as aforesaid was in respect of a rent registered after such commencement, the period of 12 months beginning with the date of such registration, or any subsequent period of 12 months beginning with the anniversary of that date ;

(c) in a case where the rent previously payable as aforesaid was payable under a rent agreement in force before or after the commencement of this Act, the period of 12 months beginning with the date when the last increase (before or after such commencement) took effect under that agreement, or any subsequent period of 12 months beginning with the anniversary of that date.

(3) This section shall not affect any increase in respect of a service element within the meaning of Schedule 2 to this Act.

(4) The Secretary of State may by order substitute, for the sum of £78 mentioned in subsection (1) above, a sum other than that sum.

(5) An order under subsection (4) above shall be made by statutory instrument subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament, and may be varied or revoked by a subsequent order made under that subsection.

(6) Any notice of increase under section 21(2)(b) of the 1971 Act or any rent agreement which purports to increase the rent payable at any time above that permitted at that time in terms of this section shall have effect to increase the rent to the extent so permitted but no further.

(7) The provisions of section 7(2), (3) and (5) and section 8(4) and (9) of this Act and of paragraphs 9 and 10 of Schedule 2 thereto shall apply for the purposes of this section as they apply for the purposes of those sections.