Determining the open market rent rate
Determining the open market rent rate
An illustrative rent increase calculator is available to help landlords and tenants understand what the rent may be set at if a rent adjudication application is made, based on the proposed changes from 1 April.
Please note that the figures produced by the calculator are for illustrative purposes only. You can only receive a formal rent adjudication decision by applying to Rent Service Scotland (or the First-tier Tribunal, where appropriate) and the decision may be different to the figures produced by the calculator.
Determining the open market rent rate
If an application for rent adjudication is made, the rent set by Rent Service Scotland, or the First-tier Tribunal, will depend on the open market rent for the property.
Rent Service Scotland uses a range of information to determine the open market rent with the primary evidence coming from its ‘Market Evidence Database.’
This market evidence is sourced through a variety of means, including advertised rental information, private landlord and letting agent returns, and mailshot initiatives, although most of the evidence is obtained from advertised rents.
Rent Service Scotland publishes its previous adjudication decisions and the comparative rents it has used to make its decisions.
There’s no single source of data that can be consulted to work out open market rent. If you wanted an idea of what an open market rent might be, you could look at, for example, existing adverts for similar properties in your local area.
It’s important to remember that a tenant does not need to know what open market rent is to make an application to Rent Service Scotland. They just need to supply details about the property and the rent and Rent Service Scotland will undertake the assessment.
HOME SALES AND LETTINGS COMMENT: We will ensure your property's compliance by determining the open market rent rate using various sources, primarily the Market Evidence Database, including advertised rental information and previous adjudication decisions. While there's no single data source, Rent Service Scotland considers various factors, and tenants can apply without prior knowledge of open market rent.
Source Scottish Government