# The Private Housing Rent Control (Exempt Property) (Scotland) Regulations 2026, Regulation 4: Meaning of “build to rent property”


(1) A build to rent property is a property that—
(a) is built, converted or renovated for use as a residential property,
(b) forms part of a relevant development,
(c) the completion date is on or after 31 August 2021, and
(d) is included in the property owner’s entry in the landlord register.
(2) A property will cease to be an exempt property, for the purposes of this regulation, on the earliest of—
(a) the date on which the property is first occupied by the owner of the property as their only or principal home,
(b) the date on which the property is first used as a short-term let,
(c) the date on which the property is no longer included in the property owner’s entry in the landlord register, or
(d) the date on which the property no longer forms part of a relevant development.
(3) A property is not an exempt property under this regulation where it is a mid-market rent property.
(4) For the purposes of paragraph (1)(a)—
(a) a property is converted for use as a residential property where the works to convert the property have required an application for planning permission to change the use of that property to permit its use as a dwelling,
(b) a property is renovated for use as a residential property where, immediately prior to its renovation, the property was not suitable for use as a dwelling by reason of—
(i) the structural integrity of that property was compromised to the extent that without significant repair work, beyond the extent of normal repair, modernisation or refurbishment, it was deemed unsafe to live in, or
(ii) repair work to make the property suitable to live in required the demolition of the existing structure.
(5) For the purposes of this regulation—
“completion date” means the date of—
(a) the acceptance of a completion certificate in accordance with section 18 of the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 in respect of the construction, conversion, or renovation of a building or part of a building, or
(b) if earlier, the grant of permission for the temporary occupation of that building under section 21(3) of that Act in respect of that construction, conversion or renovation,
“landlord register” means the register prepared and maintained by the local authority in accordance with section 82(1) of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004,
“planning permission” has the meaning given by section 277 of the of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997,
“relevant development” is a group of six or more properties which—
(a) are all covered by the same planning permission,
(b) are all owned by the same person or group of persons, and
(c) since the completion date, have all solely been used for lease under a private residential tenancy under the 2016 Act.
“short-term let” has the meaning given by article 3 of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 (Licensing of Short term Lets) Order 2022.
(6) For the purposes of the definition of “relevant development” in paragraph (5), a property has not solely been used for lease under a private residential tenancy if at any time it has been—
(a) occupied by the owner of the property as their only or principal home, or
(b) used as a short-term let.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/sdsi/2026/9780111065327/regulation/4 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/draft-private-housing-rent-control-exempt-property-scotland-regulations-2026/regulation-4
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.