Housing (Scotland) Act 2025

14 Information that may be sought by local authority or the Scottish Ministers

(1) A local authority may request the information mentioned in subsection (3), in relation to any house for which information is included in a person’s entry in the authority’s landlord register, from—

(a) the person whose entry in the register includes information in relation to the house, or

(b) any other person acting as landlord under a tenancy or occupancy arrangement granted by that person to which the house (or part of it) is subject.

(2) The Scottish Ministers may request the information mentioned in subsection (3), in relation to any house for which information is included in a person’s entry in the landlord register of any local authority, from—

(a) the person whose entry in the register includes information in relation to the house, or

(b) any other person acting as landlord under a tenancy or occupancy arrangement granted by that person to which the house (or part of it) is subject.

(3) The information referred to in subsections (1) and (2), in relation to any house (or part of the house) mentioned in either of those subsections, is—

(a) the address of the house,

(b) a description of the type of tenancy or occupancy arrangement to which the house (or part of it) is subject,

(c) the amount and frequency of rent payable under any relevant tenancy to which the house (or part of it) is subject,

(d) whether the rent payable includes payment of any costs associated with the house and, if it does, the amount of each such cost and the matter to which it relates,

(e) in relation to the most recent increase in the rent payable under any relevant tenancy to which the house (or part of it) is subject—

(i) the date of the rent increase, and

(ii) the amount and frequency of the rent payable under the tenancy immediately before the rent increase took effect,

(f) the size of the house (or where the tenancy or occupancy arrangement relates to part of the house, the size of that part of the house) including—

(i) the number of each of the following rooms in the house (or part of it)—

(A) bedrooms,

(B) public rooms,

(C) kitchens,

(D) bathrooms,

(E) other rooms,

(ii) the number of storeys in the house (or part of it), and

(iii) the floor area of the house (or part of it),

(g) whether the house (or part of it) is fully furnished, partially furnished or unfurnished by the landlord and, if it is partially furnished, a brief description of the furnishings provided by the landlord,

(h) the type of the house (such as whether it is a detached, semi-detached, terraced or flatted property),

(i) whether the house (or part of it) is subject to a tenancy or occupancy arrangement granted by a person other than the person entered in the relevant landlord register and, if it is, the name and address of, and other contact information for, the person acting as landlord under the tenancy or occupancy arrangement,

(j) the quality, state of repair, and energy efficiency of the house.

(4) A local authority or the Scottish Ministers may not exercise the power under subsection (1) or (2) (as the case may be) more than once in a 12 month period in respect of the same person in relation to the same information about the same house (or the same part of a house that is subject to more than one tenancy or occupancy arrangement).

(5) In addition, a local authority or the Scottish Ministers may request the information mentioned in subsection (3) in relation to a house mentioned in subsection (1) or (2) (as the case may be) from a person with a right to use the house (or part of it) under a tenancy or occupancy arrangement.

(6) The power conferred by subsection (1) or (5) may be exercised by a local authority—

(a) for the purpose of—

(i) enabling or assisting the exercise of any of its functions under this Chapter,

(ii) assisting the Scottish Ministers in the exercise of any of their functions under this Chapter,

(b) subject to subsection (4) and any guidance under subsection (8), at such times and intervals as it considers appropriate.

(7) The power conferred by subsection (2) or (5) may be exercised by the Scottish Ministers—

(a) for the purpose of or in connection with—

(i) enabling or assisting the exercise of any of their functions under this Chapter,

(ii) assisting a local authority in the exercise of any of its functions under this Chapter,

(b) subject to subsection (4), at such times and intervals as the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate.

(8) In making a request under subsection (1) or (5), a local authority must have regard to any guidance given by the Scottish Ministers about the form, content and frequency of such a request.

(9) In this section—

• “house” is to be construed in accordance with section 101 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004,

• “landlord register”, in relation to a local authority, means the register prepared and maintained by the local authority for the purpose of Part 8 of that Act,

• “occupancy arrangement” has the meaning given by section 101(1) of that Act,

• “relevant tenancy” has the meaning given by section 1(5) of this Act,

• “tenancy” includes a sub-tenancy.

(10) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations modify this section so as to add or remove information that may be requested by a local authority or by them under—

(a) subsection (1) or (2) (as the case may be), or

(b) subsection (5).

(11) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations modify this section so as to add or remove descriptions of persons from whom information may be sought by local authorities or the Scottish Ministers under subsection (1) or (2) (as the case may be).