Councils in Scotland will be able to cap rent increases on some properties at a maximum of 6% under a bill backed by MSPs.

Local authorities will be able to introduce controls in specially designated areas under the government’s Housing (Scotland) Bill.

The legislation – which was passed by 89 votes to 28 – will also require local authorities to act more quickly when tenants are at risk of homelessness, and introduce measures designed to help victims of domestic abuse.

Housing Secretary Mairi McAllan said the reforms would strengthen protections for tenants and introduce a “gold standard” in homeless prevention.

However, housing campaigners said the rent controls – which will not apply to mid-market and build-to-let homes – do not go far enough.

Temporary rent controls were put in place during the Covid pandemic, but those expired in April 2025.

The housing bill creates provisions for new long-term measures by allowing ministers to designate parts of the country as rent control areas. This is expected to happen by 2027.

In those zones, councils will be able to limit rent increases to one percentage point above inflation (as measured under the Consumer Price Index), up to a maximum rent increase of 6%.

However, mid-market rent and build-to-let homes, including student accommodation, are to be exempt.

Ministers said they were concerned that rent caps on those properties could suppress housebuilding.

The bill allows for some other properties to be exempt from the rent cap, and for rents to be increased above the rent cap in some cases.

Regulations setting out the detail of those rules are expected to be agreed by parliament next year.

The wide-ranging legislation will introduce duties on public authorities – including councils, the police and the health service – to ensure people do not become homeless.

They will have to ask about the housing circumstances of those they interact with and provide support, or refer them, to their local authority.

Councils will be required to act sooner to prevent homelessness by providing support to households threatened with homelessness up to six months before homelessness appears imminent, rather than the current two months.

The bill will update the definition of domestic abuse in housing legislation and force social landlords to set out a policy to support tenants at risk of homelessness because of domestic abuse.

Under the legislation, courts will have to consider whether to delay when an eviction is carried out.

The bill also includes changes to the way damages for unlawful eviction are calculated.

Private and social housing tenants are to be given new rights to request to keep a pet, while private housing tenants are to be allowed to make changes to the property they are renting.

The bill includes provisions allowing the government to use unclaimed deposits to fund support for private tenants, and allowing a single joint tenant to end a joint tenancy.

And it sets out measures to make it easier for social housing tenants to have damp and mould in their homes fixed.

The move comes in response to the Awaab’s Law campaign, named after two-year-old Awaab Ishak who died from mould exposure in Rochdale in 2020.

MSPs also agreed to an amendment tabled by Green co-leader Ross Greer removing a council tax premium on second and long-term empty homes.

The Scottish government declared a national housing emergency last year due to a severe shortage in social homes and rising private rent costs.

Yet figures released earlier this month showed the number of households living in temporary homeless accommodation in Scotland has reached a record high.

That came after Housing Secretary Mairi McAllan announced an emergency action plan, pledging up to £4.9bn over the next four years to deliver about 36,000 affordable homes.

However, research shared with BBC Scotland News found that £8.2bn would need to be spent over the next five-year term of the Scottish parliament to meet the government’s house building targets.

Landlord groups have warned rent controls could exacerbate the housing crisis by putting people off renting their properties and disincentivising investment.

John Blackwood, chief executive of the Scottish Association of Landlords, said his organisation opposed any rent controls but said the cap of inflation plus one percentage point was “proportionate”.

He told BBC Scotland News: “Rent controls deter investment, frighten off landlords, reduce supply of accommodation and ironically, it raises rents.

“So we need to make sure if we do have rent controls it doesn’t do any of those things in Scotland.”

Living Rent national secretary Bianca Lopez told BBC Scotland News that those in mid-market and build-to-rent properties would be “left behind” by the bill, which she warned could create a “two-tier” system of rent controls.

A mid-market tenant, she said her rent had increased by 19% in a year, rising to £540 a month and leaving her at the “brink” financially.

“At the same time my wage hasn’t gone up 19% in 12 months so it really puts a strain on your resources and mental health as well,” Ms Lopez added.

Shelter Scotland Director Alison Watson said: “We welcome any measures that prevent homelessness but ultimately this bill does not go far enough.

“It does not have the money behind it to deliver the homes we need or ensure frontline services are funded to deliver the preventative services within the bill.”