COUNTRYSIDE living in Scotland may become impossible for many because of rises in the cost of maintaining rental property or the lack of homes for rent, according to a leading estate agency.

Experts at Bell Ingram warned of a potential crisis for those living and working in rural areas as the number of private rental properties has dropped.

It followed the introduction of legislation around maintenance and testing standards, energy efficiency and the new Private Rented Tenancy (PRT).

While the new regulations provide greater security for tenants, the company said they were driving up costs for landlords.

Bell Ingram land agent, Catherine Smith, said: “Despite the obvious positives that have come from stricter legislation around renting property privately, it may leave the rural areas of Scotland worse off in the long run.

“There is an ongoing requirement for people to live and work in the countryside and a greater need for rental property than ever in the current housing climate. The PRT has reduced the flexibility of rental property, which is absolutely key for some farms and estates that require homes for employees.

“Another pressing problem for rural rentals is the upcoming changes to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) standards.

“Although staggered, from March 2025, all let properties must have a minimum rating of band D, which will almost certainly require work to most, if not all traditional rural properties.”

Options to renting out a property include selling or diversifying to a holiday home, but both would deprive the countryside of local people to drive the economy and may not suit estate or farm owners.

Smith added: “There is no one option that will work for all estates or farms and a full assessment of the surplus residential properties should be completed before making any decisions on the best way to move forward.

“We’re still yet to understand the full implications of changing EPC standards too. It’s not necessarily a bad thing to improve the housing anyway; it protects and maintains for the future but can be challenging when imposed with a deadline for completion.”