Rent Control zealot dropped from Scottish government

The architect of the controversial rent control policies in Scotland has left the government.

It is not known what long-term implication this has for the rent controls currently imposed north of the border.

Patrick Harvie - tenants’ rights minister in the Scottish Government until today - was co-leader of the Scottish Greens. His party was in a loose alliance with the majority Scottish National Party in the Scottish Parliament. 

This morning the SNP pulled the plug on the deal. The agreement had been at risk of collapse since Scotland's net zero minister announced last week that the government was dropping a key climate target, of 75% emissions reduction by 2030. 

Members of the Scottish Green Party were to have voted next month on whether to continue being part of the Scottish Government: that decision now appears to have been made for them by their leaders.

Harvie introduced a rent cap and other controls in 2022. 

The 2022 Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act implemented a rent cap originally set at 0 per cent before going up to 3.0 per cent. Scottish ministers then voted to extend the powers available to them until September 30 2023, and again until March 31 this year.  

From April 1 - just over three weeks ago - the cap was changed to become effectively a permanent feature. 

A complicated rent adjudication process was introduced meaning increases had to be based on one of the following three comparators:  1. Open market rent; 2. A landlord’s proposed rental increase; or 3. A new taper calculation that will specify a maximum ‘reasonable’ increase for that tenancy.  

The irony is that rent rises in Scotland were amongst the highest in the UK during Harvie’s reign, as landlords sought to recoup extra costs through increases levied in between tenancies. 

Harvie walked out - literally - just before an emergency Scottish Government cabinet meeting this morning at 0830, when he was told of the SNP's decision.

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