Adrian Ramsay, newly-elected co-leader of the Green Party, wants a windfall tax on the value of investment properties owned by private landlords.

He claims this would be an average of £1,700 per property.

He’s told the BBC that it’s a one-off measure “for this winter period” to help people across the country, not just tenants, with higher fuel bills.

“We’re going to pay for it by a one-off windfall tax on the value of private properties so we’re asking landlords to contribute one per cent of the value of the land of their properties” he said. 

“We’re doing that because we’ve seen during the last year – during the pandemic – that landlords are one of those groups that have benefitted financially with the average rent increasing by 6.6 per cent and the average property value increasing by £25,000. So this is a fair way to support everyone in society through this winter and crucially allowing us to get to the stage where we can focus on the long-term answers about insulating people’s homes, installing clean renewable energy systems and weaning us off our addiction to fossil fuels.”

The Green Party has only one MP in the Westminster Parliament so are unlikely to have any influence over policy, but in Scotland – where the political system is proportional representation – the party has entered into a coalition with the SNP.

North of the border the Greens have pledged to “introduce a cross-cutting goal of ensuring that housing costs represent no more than 25 per cent of a household’s income, including a points-based system of rent controls.”

The new SNP-Green government has even appointed a Minister for Tenants’ Rights, Patrick Harvie, who has reiterated the pledge to introduce strong rent controls.