Earlier LetLaw blogged about new rules requiring Scottish landlords to include the energy rating from an Energy Performance Certificate on their adverts for let. As of 1^st June 2013, all landlords in Scotland are going to have to expand the word count on their adverts with yet more changes to legislation on letting agent adverts.

The Scottish Government have finally introduced section 6 of the Private Rented Housing (Scotland) Act 2011. This requires all landlords to include their landlord registration number on letting adverts and will apply from 1^st June 2013. It will not however apply to adverts published after 1^st June 2013 where the landlord instructed publication of the advert prior to 1^st May 2013.

If a landlord does not yet have a landlord registration number, that will not prevent him from advertising a property for let. However any adverts will have to include? the phrase 'landlord registration pending'.

The rules apply to all forms of advertising including:-

• Signs in agency windows
• Online advertising, e.g. property portals
• Newspaper adverts

The only exception to the rule will be the 'To Let' boards that agents often have outside properties for rent. Thankfully this will avoid any need to update such signage each time a new property comes up for let.

If there is more than one landlord, it will be sufficient to simply include the landlord registration number for one of them. There is no need to list the numbers for each landlord. Similarly, it must be the landlord?s number on the advert. It will not be acceptable where an agent is instructed for the agent to include their registration number on any advert instead of the landlords.

With a team of experienced housing lawyers' in Glasgow and Edinburgh, we are well placed to offer landlord legal advice - get in touch with our experienced team.