15:11 PM, 22nd January 2025, About 3 hours ago
Text Size
The Scottish Housing Bill is an attack on the private rented sector, says Meghan Gallacher MSP.
In an exclusive video interview with Property118, Meghan, who is also the Scottish Conservative shadow cabinet secretary for housing, blames the SNP’s Scottish Housing Bill for making Scotland’s housing emergency worse by doubling down on harmful rent controls.
Meghan also tells Property118 how landlords in Scotland are being forced to meet EPC C targets, and how one landlord would have to erect a windmill outside the property just to meet these targets.
Meghan tells Property118 that she became involved in politics at a very young age.
She tells Property118: “A huge influence in my life was my grandparents, who were both involved politically with the Scottish Conservatives.
“It was through growing up and speaking to them about current affairs that drove me into the world of politics.
“I never thought I would become a politician, as I was more interested in policy development and thought I’d be more in the background rather than at the forefront.
“I joined the party while I was at university, working for a retail company at the time, and then went on to work as a researcher for a fellow MSP. I was elected as a councillor at North Lanarkshire Council in 2017.
“Since then, I’ve become an MSP and have been in that role for four years. I have now taken on the housing portfolio for the Scottish Conservatives.”
The Scottish Housing Bill passed its first stage in the Scottish Parliament just before Christmas, and the Bill will introduce rent controls and give tenants the right to keep a pet.
Meghan believes the Scottish Housing Bill will cause chaos in the private rented sector and fails to address the housing shortage.
She says: “What we are seeing in Scotland is a mistake, that’s going to be put back into the housing sector and consequently, we will see more landlords leave the sector. This will completely destabilise the housing market.
“I believe this bill is an attack on the private rented sector, not just because of the policies themselves, but because of the consequences they will bring.
“I’m still baffled as to why the Scottish government has brought forward a housing bill that does not build a single house in Scotland.”
The Scottish Conservatives voted against the Housing Bill, mainly due to the rent control proposals, Meghan explains.
“We based our argument on what happened between September 2022 and March 2024. The last time rent controls were in effect, rent prices increased significantly. It was higher than any other UK nation, including London.”
“When the SNP last introduced rent controls, we saw 22,000 homes being lost from the private rented sector just the space of a year during a housing emergency”, she adds.
Scotland’s former first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, first capped rent rises at 3% in 2022 and placed a pause on evictions. These came to an end in April last year.
Meghan says a perfect storm of rent controls and lack of investment in the private rented sector is making it harder for landlords.
She tells Property118: “When you combine rent controls with the loss of investment of nearly £3bn to the housing sector, that happened because rent controls were put in place.
“I think this will leave landlords in a position where they have to decide whether to sell up or try to battle a system that’s already against them.”
Meghan says the Scottish Conservatives would remove the rent cap and work together with landlords and developers to solve the housing crisis.
She explains: “We need to make a housing market where the private rented sector can thrive.
“We must also install confidence in the private rented sector by encouraging investment and working together. Proposals that are brought forward must not damage the market.
“I don’t think the Scottish government have been listening.
“The solution is to remove the rent cap, and to encourage investment which is desperately needed in Scotland.”
The Scottish Conservatives pledge to help keep housing affordable and say the solution is to build more homes.
Meghan says: “We need to make sure we have enough supply to meet the demands of people in Scotland.
“This is why we have a housing emergency in Scotland as we don’t have enough supply of safe and secure homes. The Scottish government have never understood supply and demand and that has been shown through the Housing Bill.
“Demand for housing has reached crisis point, we have 15,000 children who are facing homelessness in Scotland and thousands of people stuck on housing waiting lists.”
She adds: “The most pragmatic approach would be to build more homes, create more confidence in the market and get more developers coming in.
“By building more homes, we get more investment coming into the sector and that will drive rents down and make housing more affordable.
“This will only be achieved if we either remove the SNP from government, or convince the Scottish government to move away from these discussions.
“In the meantime, we will continue to push for a plan on how we will tackle the housing emergency.”
Meghan emphasises the importance of the Scottish government working together with landlords to help keep housing affordable.
She tells Property118: “The private rented sector is part of the solution to the housing emergency, but landlords’ ideas are not being taken on board.
“I think the Scottish government needs to change its approach. There needs to be a more collective approach between all the various housing sectors as we devise a plan.
“This legislation can’t just tackle one or two issues, while ignoring the broader housing challenges.
“I think that’s the biggest missed opportunity in the Scottish Housing Bill.”
Meghan said it was vital to remember the Bill was introduced due to the Scottish Greens being in coalition with the SNP until last year, as the rent controls policy was introduced by Patrick Harvie.
The Scottish Greens have recently demanded all landlords halt evictions during the winter months.
Meghan explains why the Scottish Greens are wrong to propose an eviction ban.
She says: “It won’t be practical in every circumstance to stop evictions completely during the winter months.
“We’ve got to look at potential evictions on a case-by-case basis as some of them will be complex.
“To propose a blanket ban is just another knee-jerk reaction from a party that doesn’t understand the private rented sector at all.”
Another huge problem in the private rented sector in Scotland is properties meeting energy-efficiency targets.
Ed Miliband has announced that all landlords in England must meet EPC C targets by 2030.
However, Meghan believes that future legislation in Scotland will push landlords to act much sooner, and warns of the huge costs of meeting EPC C targets.
She explains: “Potential future legislation in Scotland will be the Heat and Buildings Bill. We don’t know when that will arrive in the Scottish Parliament, but it will incorporate similar proposals to that in England, forcing landlords to move EPC C compliance.
“In Scotland, they are forcing landlords to move to EPC compliance much sooner than everyone else.
“Speaking to those in the private rented sector, I know some landlords have been quoted £40,000 to meet energy-efficiency targets.
“This is going to come at a huge cost to the landlord at a time when rent controls could potentially be brought in.
“It is yet another mechanism that will make a landlord’s job much harder in making sure their home is compliant.”
Meghan adds that a one-size-fits-all approach to meet energy-efficiency targets will make it particularly difficult for rural homes in Scotland.
She says: “I spoke to one landlord, and they told me they would have to erect a windmill outside their property just to meet EPC C targets.
“It just shows the flaws in the Scottish government’s proposal to meet EPC targets.
“We need to be sensible and pragmatic, and understand that not every part of Scotland is the same. Some exceptions will need to be put in place.
“The Scottish government should look at a rural-based solution in order for these landlords not to be unfairly penalised.
“There is a lot of work that needs to be done, but I will continue to liaise with the private rented sector on this.”
The Scottish Conservatives also plan to help first-time buyers and alleviate the housing crisis by increasing the Land and Buildings Transaction (LBTT) threshold.
LBTT, which replaced stamp duty in Scotland in 2015, is a tax paid when purchasing property or land, with different rates depending on the value of the property.
For properties worth more than £145,000, buyers must pay a 2% tax, and 5% for properties valued between £250,001 and £325,000.
Meghan says: “I’m a firm believer that everyone should have the right to own their own home.
“Our tax system should support that ambition.
“One of our proposals would be to permanently increase the threshold for paying LBTT to £250,0000 starting with a 5% starting band from that point.
“We would also introduce this for non-residential properties, we want to see the market open and to encourage young people to get on the housing ladder.”
Meghan says the Scottish Conservatives want a strong future for the private rented sector in Scotland.
She says the Scottish government must see landlords as part of the solution if they want to solve the housing crisis.
She tells Property118: “We need all parts of the housing sector to pull together to tackle Scotland’s housing emergency and the private rented sector will be integral to that.
“What we need from the Scottish government is not for them to put through damaging legislation that is going to see people leave the private rented sector.
“Each and every landlord in Scotland has their part to play and I want to engage with as many as possible.
“We need more landlords to stand up and say ‘we are not going to stand for this, we do want to play our part — but only if the Scottish government wants to work with us’.”
Previous Article
Landlords could see tenants moving in without paying rent
