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37 What is a registered rent?
It is a rent which is determined by a Rent Officer or a Rent Assessment Committee according to the rules laid down in the Rent (Scotland) Act 1984. Registered rents are recorded in the rent register which is available for public inspection.
38 What is a Rent Assessment Committee?
A Rent Assessment Committee is an independent committee, normally of three people: a lawyer, a professional surveyor and a lay person.
39 What is a Rent Officer?
Rent Officers are independent, statutory officers, appointed by the Secretary of State for Scotland, who determine and register rents for houses let on regulated tenancies. Either landlords or tenants can ask for a rent to be registered.
40 Who can apply to have a rent registered?
Either the landlord or the tenant (or both jointly) can apply to the Rent Officer. Applications must be made on the proper form which can be obtained from the Rent Officer. The applicant must give certain required information and must state what rent he wants to be registered. The Rent Officer will send a copy of the application to the other party (landlord or tenant as appropriate).
41 When can an application for registration be made?
An application can be made at any time during the tenancy for a rent to be registered, however long the tenancy has been in existence ' provided no application has been made before. If a rent has been registered before, normally 3 years must pass before a new application can be made (see Question 51).
42 Can I get an idea of what rent will be registered before applying to the Rent Officer?
The Rent Officer cannot tell you beforehand what rent he might register in a particular Case. However, an indication of the rent likely to be registered for any dwelling can often be gained by finding, in the rent register, recent registrations for similar dwellings in
the locality - though this can only ever be a rough guide. The rent register is open for free public inspection at the Rent Office. A copy of an entry in the rent register may be obtained on payment of a fee.
43 What happens when someone has applied for a rent to be registered?
The landlord and tenant will each be asked if they want to meet the Rent Officer to discuss what rent h e should register. (But the Rent Officer will not arrange a discussion if landlord and tenant applied jointly and he agrees with the rent proposed in the application.) If either asks for a discussion, or if the Rent Officer himself thinks there should be one, he will invite both landlord and tenant to attend. Before the consultation the Rent Officer will usually want to inspect the premises, unless he has done so within the past 6years and no significant change to the condition of the house has been brought to his notice. If a consultation is to be held, the Rent Officer must give at least 14 days notice in order to give the tenant an opportunity to study any information supplied by the landlord, and to make further enquiries about it.
44 How does the Rent Officer decide the level of a registered rent?
In deciding what would be a fair rent the Rent Officer has to take account of the circumstances of the case (but not the personal circumstances of the landlord or tenant) and must apply his knowledge and experience of rents of comparable property in the area. In particular he must assess the age, character, locality and state of repair of the house and the amount and condition of any furniture provided.
The Rent Officer must assume that the demand for similar houses ^in the area does not substantially exceed supply, so that he disregards any possibly inflated rent which the landlord might get In times of housing shortages.
He must also disregard any defect in the house caused by the failure of the tenant or any former tenant to observe the conditions of let, and any improvement or replacement carried out by the tenant other than as required under the tenancy. This latter point is so that a landlord does not benefit from an improvement which he did not make.
45 Will the registered rent include amounts for the use of furniture or for service provided by the landlord?
Yes. The applicant should tell the Rent Officer of all services provided and say how much of the rent being asked for is fairly attributable ' to those services. If the applicant is the landlord he should give details of what he has spent in providing the services. When the Rent Officer asks the tenant if he wants a consultation (see Question 43) he will enclose a copy of the information about services provided by the landlord.
46 Will the rent register show the amount payable in respect of furniture or services?
Yes, provided that the amount attributable to services is not less than 5% of the registered rent.
47 The terms of the tenancy allow the landlord to vary the service charge. Will the registered rent take account of this?
Yes, but only if the Rent Officer is satisfied that the terms of the tenancy agreement concerning such charges are reasonable. In such a case, he will assess a registered rent in the usual way, but when he enters the amount for services in the rent register he will note that the amount is "variable"'. In all other cases he will register a fixed rent and any variation of terms in the tenancy agreement will not enable more rent to be charged. A dispute between landlord and tenant about an increase or decrease in a variable charge for services can be settled as provided for in the lease, or by the Sheriff.
48 If the landlord or tenant is dissatisfied with the rent registered, can he make a formal objection against the decision?
There is normally a right to object formally to the Rent Officer's rent. But there is no right of objection if:
(a) there is a joint application and the Rent Officer accepts and registers the rent applied for; or
(b) the landlord has obtained a certificate of fair rent and the rent registered is the same as the certificate.
An objection should be made in writing to the Rent Officer. Objections are normally referred to a Rent Assessment Committee.
49 What will the Committee do?
The Committee may want to inspect the house and they may ask for more information. Both landlord and tenant will be asked to put their points to them in writing and will be given an opportunity to appear before them. Any hearing will be as, informal as possible and it is not necessary to be professionally represented at it (but you may, if you wish, ask a solicitor or someone else to represent you or give evidence for you).
The Committee must have regard to the same factors as the Rent Officer in coming to their decision. The Committee may confirm the rent determined by the Rent Officer, or fix another figure which may be higher or lower.
50 How long does a registered rent remain in force?
It remains in force until a new rent is registered or until the tenant leaves and a new non-regulated tenancy agreement is entered into.
51 When can a new registration be made?
A new registration cannot be made sooner than 3 years after the effective date of the existi.ng registration, unless either:
(a) the application is made jointly by landlord and tenant; or
(b) there has been a relevant change of circumstances (for example, major repairs, improvements or changes in the terms of the tenancy); or
(c) the application is made by the landlord 2 years and 9 months after the date of the existing registration. But if a new rent is registered before the end of the 3-year period, the new rent cannot take effect until the end of that period.
52 If a landlord is considering carrying out improvements to a house already occupied by a regulated tenant, can he find out in advance from the Rent Officer what rent he will register?
Yes. He can apply to the Rent Officer for a Certificate of Fair Rent. The application must state what rent the landlord wishes to charge, and must be made on a form which can be obtained from the Rent Officer. The Rent Officer will send the tenant a copy of the application. If the tenant makes representations or if the Rent Officer does not agree with the rent sought, he will arrange a consultation in the same way as for rent registration (see Question 43). When the Rent Officer has decided on the rent to be specified in the Certificate of Fair Rent, he will notify the landlord and tenant in advance, allowing 14 days for any objection to be made to a Rent Assessment Committee. If no objection is made, he will issue the Certificate.
53 Can the landlord apply for the rent in the Certificate of Fair Rent to be registered?
Yes. When the improvement works are completed, the landlord can apply to the Rent Officer for the rent in the certificate to be registered. There is a special form for applications of this kind.
He must apply within 3 years of the certificate being issued. Provided that the improvement works have been carried out as proposed, the Rent Officer will register the rent in the certificate without further procedure.
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