Edinburgh landlords urged to treat Repairing Standard as ongoing duty, not paperwork exercise

Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce has drawn attention to the Repairing Standard, the minimum physical condition that privately rented homes in Scotland must meet, saying it applies both before a tenant moves in and continuously throughout the tenancy.

The body said the standard is set out in the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 and explained in the Scottish Government’s statutory guidance for private landlords, and that landlords are legally required to have regard to that guidance as the minimum needed to demonstrate compliance, or to be able to give a satisfactory explanation where meeting it is genuinely not possible.

According to Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, the standard covers overall condition, structure and exterior, water and sanitation, heating and hot water, gas and electrical installations, fixtures and appliances, furniture, fire and carbon monoxide detection, kitchen facilities, and common areas and doors.

The Chamber said eight measures introduced on 1 March 2024 should now be treated as established requirements rather than upcoming changes. These include satisfactory food storage and preparation provision, a fixed heating system capable of maintaining adequate temperatures rather than reliance on portable heaters, safe access to common parts such as stairs and bin stores, and arrangements for work involving other tenement owners where consent or rights are required.

Other measures cover secure common doors with emergency-exit locks that tenants can open from inside without a key, Residual Current Device protection on electrical installations, and checks on lead pipework and drinking water between the boundary stopcock and the kitchen tap. The Chamber said that where lead pipework is identified it must normally be removed, and where shared pipework cannot be replaced immediately, landlords should document the steps taken and keep tenants informed.

A further change was noted for 6 October 2026, when Awaab’s Law is due to introduce defined timescales for investigating damp and mould and beginning required repairs, according to Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce.

The Chamber said landlords should keep records such as reports, owner correspondence, factor emails, quotes and meeting decisions to demonstrate what has been attempted, stating this is “not a ‘my neighbour said no, case closed’ exemption”.