THE Scottish government’s relentless assault on private landlords shows no signs of slowing. With the Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) holding firm at 8 per cent on additional properties in Scotland and England’s 5 per cent HRAD (Higher Rates for Additional Dwellings), politicians claim these measures tackle speculation and safeguard tenants. The reality is simpler and more damaging: such taxes never disappear. They get passed on, and tenants, the very people these policies purport to protect, ultimately foot the bill.
A Bristol-based property developer, speaking candidly about the relentless pressure on landlords, put it bluntly: ‘Because the Government has convinced itself that all landlords are millionaires and can simply absorb these extra costs, the reality is we pass them on to tenants. We have little protection against non-paying tenants, little effective way to recover lost rent that covers our mortgages, little option but to keep paying the mortgage companies while tenants stop paying, and little guarantee of recouping lost rent or damages at the end. If the system were fairer for those who actually contribute to the housing market, we could be fairer in return, but it is not, and we cannot.’
She added that landlords want to keep good tenants, yet the restrictions and effective punishments from governments and councils bully landlords and end up hurting tenants too.
‘We don’t need mindless drones in power any more,’ she said. ‘We are part of society. Making £260 monthly profit from creating a safe and secure home for a small family is not a crime; there are far more good landlords than bad, but we need reformed systems to help us and struggling tenants alike.’
This captures the widespread frustration. Investors buying second or additional homes rarely swallow the full ADS hit. In a huge proportion of deals, they negotiate the tax burden off the purchase price, forcing sellers, often ordinary families upsizing or downsizing, to accept thousands less. When the cost cannot be fully offset at purchase, it flows straight into higher rents. Rising interest rates follow the same path: mortgages climb, and tenants pay more.
Property expert David Robertson, director of DD11 Property Investments in the Dundee/Arbroath area, tackles this head-on at his weekly Tuesday morning meetings in Dundee’s Tim Hortons restaurant. From 10am, investors from across Scotland converge to share strategies for navigating these burdens and also offer tenants advice. The gatherings have grown so popular that Tim Hortons now reserves large sections for the group. Attendees include tenants eager to learn how developers and investors like Mr Robertson mitigate government-imposed costs without causing stress to tenants.
As covered in my earlier TCW piece on Scotland’s 200 per cent council tax penalties for empty homes, originally sold as a nudge to bring vacant properties back into use but now mindlessly slapped on by drone-like councils chasing extra revenue with zero thought, these heavy-handed cash grabs are inevitably recouped through higher rents until the bill is paid. Landlords lose nothing long-term; tenants bear everything.
Most landlords are far from wealthy. The majority own one or two properties and net only £200 to £400 per month after expenses. When tenants default, mortgage lenders still demand full payment. In Scotland’s problematic first-tier tribunal system, evictions can drag on for a year or more, accumulating thousands in lost mortgage payments and often irrecoverable damages. Unpaid rent and damage remain civil matters; even with a tribunal order, landlords must enforce it themselves. Recovery might reach 60 to 80 per cent from tenants in steady employment, but plunges below 20 per cent if the tenant is on benefits, has no assets, or moves frequently. Many landlords abandon the chase when pursuit costs exceed any likely return.
Just as landlords offset unfair taxes like ADS surcharges by hiking rents or negotiating down prices, tenants have mastered dodging rent. With England’s Renters’ Rights Act 2025 ending Section 21 no-fault evictions from May 2026, tenants build arrears knowing Section 8 claims drag on for six to 12 months or more in backlogged courts, claim hardship for delays, or vanish before bailiffs act. Internet forums and the charity Shelter publicise these tactics freely. Landlords treat taxes as recoverable; tenants treat rent as deferrable. Both exploit the broken rules, but landlords and the housing market are the ones with the most to lose.
Scottish businesswoman Jenny McLaughlan knows this all too well. Best known for her Dragons’ Den appearance pitching Gumigem silicone teething necklaces, she has since become a mortgage broker and Keller Williams estate agent. A recent non-paying tenant who refused to leave her buy-to-let property cost her nine months of mortgage payments and around £7,000 in damage she will never recover. The recovery system is notoriously stressful to navigate, with outcomes relying more on hope than on any real sense of fairness.
The pressure mounts further with upcoming changes. From April 2027, income tax on property profits rises by two percentage points, with new separate rates of 22 per cent basic, 42 per cent higher, and 47 per cent additional. This hits slim margins hard. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax starts from April 2026 for landlords with £50,000 or more gross qualifying income, forcing quarterly digital reporting and higher admin costs whether through software subscriptions or accountant fees. These extra burdens will inevitably be passed on to tenants through increased rents, and landlords are tired of apologising for it.
The naivety in Holyrood and Westminster remains staggering. Policies from the Green Party and allies, amplified by biased coverage from Shelter and much of the media, portray landlords as exploiters. Yet basic economics ensures costs shift to tenants, the group virtue-signallers insist they champion.
We need practical, business-minded leaders who understand numbers, incentives, and reality, not more government non-player characters blindly piling on penalties. Treat landlords as valued contributors with fair rent recovery mechanisms, and the market could stabilise for everyone. Until then, good landlords stay in the crosshairs, and tenants keep paying the steep price of political posturing.
