Changes to the Repairing Standard

The Scottish Government have issued guidance detailing changes to the Repairing Standard that take
effect and will be enforceable from 1 March 2024.

Included in the guidance is details of what is expected of landlords in relation to reports of mould
and damp within their rental properties.

The new measures in place from 1 March 2024 are:

1. Safe Kitchens. The repairing standard will be amended to include a requirement to have safely
accessible food storage and food preparation space in a private rented house.

2. Fixed Heating System. The existing duty to ensure that installations for the supply of heating are in
a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order will be amended to specify that there must
be a fixed heating system in a private rented house.

3. Safe Access to Common Parts. The existing duty to ensure that the structure and exterior of the
house is in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order will be amended to specify that
where a private rented house is a flat in a tenement, the tenant must be able to safely access and
use any common parts of the tenement, such as common closes.

4. Consent to Work on Common Parts. Section 16 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, which deals
with exceptions to the landlord's repairing duty, is amended to make it clear that a private rented
house which is a flat in a tenement does not fail the repairing standard if work otherwise needed to
comply with the standard cannot be carried out because a majority of owners in the tenement have
refused consent to carry out the work.

5. Safe and Secure Common Doors. The existing duty to ensure fire safety in private rented houses
will be amended to specify that common doors must be secure and fitted with satisfactory locks. This
will be supported by Scottish Government guidance which will specify that locks must allow users to
open them from the inside without a key so that they do not inhibit exit in the event of a fire.

6. Residual Current Devices. The existing duty to ensure that installations for the supply of electricity
in a private rented house are in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order will be
amended to specify that these must include a residual current device (a device to reduce the risk of
electrocution and fire by breaking the circuit in the event of a fault).

7. Other Fuels. The existing duty to ensure that installations for the supply of gas and electricity in a
private rented house are in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order will be extended
to any other type of fuel.

To refer to the full guidance, please visit https://www.gov.scot/publications/repairing-standard-statutory-guidance-landlords/

As part of our service, we complete a thorough check on the properties that we manage to assure that they are fully compliant at all times.