‘Landlords have nothing to fear’ from Scotland’s rent controls plan

The Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie has defended the government’s new Housing Bill, which includes plans for rent control areas.

He reassured landlords offering fair-priced, high-quality housing that they ‘have nothing to worry about’.

The proposed Bill will task local authorities with evaluating its private rental market and recommending rent control measures to ministers.

Among the critics of the move is the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) which says that landlords will sell up and investment in rented housing will plummet.

‘Good behaviour by landlords needs to be encouraged’

Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday Show, Mr Harvie said that good behaviour by landlords needs to be encouraged within a long-term framework.

He said: “Those landlords who take pride in offering high-quality homes at a fair price, looking after the wellbeing of their tenants, should have nothing to worry about from these proposals.

“But those who want to price gouge have to recognise that that kind of practice is going to come to an end.”

He went on to say that housebuilding should not be focused on ‘maximising profit’ from building expensive homes, but on ‘social need’.

Cuts to the Scottish Government’s housing budget

Mr Harvie was pressed on comments made by Jane Wood of Homes for Scotland who has criticised cuts to the Scottish Government’s housing budget.

He replied: “The long-term track record of the Scottish Government on building affordable housing is significantly better than other parts of the UK. We want to continue that.

“If Westminster cuts our capital budget, it clearly, inevitably, has a knock-on consequence, a harmful consequence, in what we can invest in Scotland.”

Highlighting the effects on Scotland’s private rented sector

However, critics continue highlighting the effects on Scotland’s private rented sector now that the rent cap has been lifted – until the new Bill reimposes controls.

Oli Sherlock, the managing director of insurance at Goodlord, said: “We can expect to see a range of repercussions as a result. Firstly, tenants should brace themselves for a jump in rents.

“Over the last 18 months, lots of landlords will have seen their mortgage costs shoot up, so will be looking to recalibrate rental prices.

“This is likely to spark a ripple effect across the market, as renters give notice and seek out new, cheaper places to rent.”

He adds: “This will see regional price averages shift around and particularly affect demand outside of city centres.

“In addition, we may see the chatter around landlord exodus reduce – the lifting of this restriction could encourage wavering landlords to stick around and not sell up, which is positive for the market overall.”

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