Landlords in Scotland are facing extra taxes when purchasing additional properties for their buy-to-let portfolio.

It comes after the Scottish Government’s Budget for 2025/2026 passed its final hurdle after being backed by a Holyrood vote.

It means that land and buildings transaction tax (LBTT) on the purchase of second and rental homes will rise from 6% to 8%.

There will also be minimum energy efficiency standards for all homes by the end of 2033, to make them warmer and less expensive to heat – private landlords would need to do this by the end of 2028.

Commenting on the changes, Timothy Douglas, head of policy and campaigns at Propertymark, said: “Propertymark welcomes the investment in affordable housing and money for the Heat in Buildings programme to help more people install clean heat and energy efficiency measures in their homes. 

“However, we do not agree with the Scottish Government’s decision, through the Budget process, to increase taxes when purchasing buy-to-let property from 6% to 8%.

“The Scottish Government’s Budget has failed to implement policies that can help meet the demand for private rented property and with Scotland’s landlord taxes now the highest in the UK, this will do nothing to tackle Scotland’s housing emergency and reduce rents for tenants.”