First minister of Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon, has announced emergency legislation that will see a rent freeze for private and social tenants.

The action begins today, 6 September, and will continue until “at least” the end of March 2023.

This move also includes a moratorium on evictions.

According to a consultation paper issued by the Scottish government in December last year, 38% of households in the country rent.

Goodlord chief operating officer Tom Mundy says: “This rent freeze represents a potentially seismic new frontier in UK lettings policy. While we understand the need to support tenants, introducing rent control could mark the end of the private rental sector (PRS) as we know it by stripping away the central incentive which encourages people to invest in buy-to-let properties.

“There’s a major risk that this freeze will push landlords out of the PRS market at a time when pressure on rental stocks is particularly acute. This will squeeze the whole lettings market and create bigger headaches for the Scottish government later down the line. Long-term, it could serve to stymie all future investment in the space and fatally undermine the system.”

And Vouch chief executive officer Simon Tillyer comments: “This is a huge step from the Scottish government. It could be the first towards a fundamental re-write of what the UK lettings market looks like.

“At a time when too many landlords are already leaving the market and there are more tenants than there are homes available to rent, we should not be taking steps that will drive even more landlords away from the PRS.

“I wouldn’t be at all surprised if this is the final straw for landlords and sparks an exodus. This policy risks creating more problems than it solves.”