What Are the New Measures Required by Landlords By 1st March 2024 to Meet the Repairing Standard in Scotland?

- Safe kitchens: The repairing standard will include a requirement to have safely accessible food storage and food preparation space in a private rented house. 

- Fixed heating system: The repairing standard will specify that there must be a fixed heating system in a private rented house which is either plumbed or hardwired.

- Safe access to common parts: The repairing standard will 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 including common closes.  Tenement buildings with 4 or more properties in the block are required to have emergency exit locks and a secure entry system.

- Consent to work on common parts: The repairing standard will 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.

- Safe and secure common doors: The repairing standard will specify that common doors must be secure and fitted with satisfactory locks, which 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.

- Residual current devices: The repairing standard will specify that electrical installations for the supply of electricity in a private rented house must include a residual current device (RCD), which is a device to reduce the risk of electrocution and fire by breaking the circuit in the event of a fault.

- 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.

The exact date for these new repairing standards to come into force is 1 March 2024.  For more information and guidance, you can visit the Scottish Government website.