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King Charles allowed to vet proposed Scottish rent freeze law

King Charles has been allowed to vet and potentially lobby for changes to emergency legislation to freeze rents in Scotland because the measures could affect tenants on his private Highland estate at Balmoral.

This week, a bill to stop landlords unjustifiably raising rents for the next six months because of the cost of living crisis is being rushed through the Scottish parliament.

The King’s involvement, under rules known in Scotland as crown consent, can be revealed after the rules at Holyrood were changed following a Guardian investigation into the monarch’s power to influence and amend the UK’s laws.

The media revealed last year that ministers in Edinburgh had allowed Queen Elizabeth to vet at least 67 pieces of legislation that affected her personal property and public powers under the arcane custom inherited from Westminster. A Scottish government memo revealed it was “almost certain” draft laws had been secretly changed to secure the Queen’s approval.

There has been growing criticism that the unelected king is able to use the secretive mechanism to secure changes to proposed laws without the public being informed, an allegation rejected by the royal family.

In response, Holyrood’s presiding officer, Alison Johnstone, told the Scottish government it now had to inform parliament as soon as a new bill was tabled whether the king had been allowed to see it first.

Previously, ministers would only tell MSPs at the final stages of a bill’s parliamentary scrutiny that the monarch had been allowed to secretly vet it. Ministers have also refused to release letters from the late King’s solicitors lobbying for changes on her behalf.

The cost of living (tenant protection) Scotland bill is the first piece of draft legislation affected by Johnstone’s ruling and is the first at Holyrood to be vetted by the King.

In a further development, Scottish ministers said on Monday they would also start explaining why crown consent was required for new bills. Previously, such explanations have not been made public.

In an announcement a few hours before the rent control bill was published, George Adam, the minister for parliamentary business, said ministers would now explain how a bill applied to the royal family’s personal and official interests and why crown consent was needed.

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