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An emergency rent freeze in the private and public sectors has been announced this afternoon in Scotland. It will last until "at least" March 31 next year.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon made the announcement which in a new Programme for Government, which is a package of emergency initiatives to help combat the cost of living crisis and high energy bills.
Although the measure will require additional legislation, it will operate retrospectively so effectively means an immediate ban on rent rises.
In a more surprising move, Sturgeon has also re-introduced a Covid-style eviction ban.
She says: "By definition, these are temporary measures, but they will provide much-needed security for many during what will be a difficult winter. We envisage that both measures will remain in place until at least the end of March 2023."
The Scottish Government consulted on plans to freeze rents, at least partly, in December 2021; proposals at that time would have also included a ban on evictions during winter.
Some 37 per cent of households in Scotland rent their homes, across private and public sectors.
Although the government in Scotland consists of SNP and Green politicians, the move to impose a rent freeze is attributed to a campaign by Labour Member of the Scottish Parliament Mercedes Villalba, who has been agitating for this policy for several months.
She says: "We have the most right wing Tory government at Westminster since the Thatcher years, with the new Prime Minister Liz Truss openly stating that she supports 'Thatcherite' 1980s style tax cuts for the wealthiest.
"Against this backdrop, it's welcome that the First Minister appears to be planning to introduce a rent freeze.
"If the Scottish Government had not used its overall majority to block my proposal for a rent freeze earlier this year, the most hard pressed in our communities could already have had a month of relief from increases imposed by landlords."
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How can anyone outlaw a buyer and seller agreeing a mutually acceptable price for anything in a free country?
Whatever happens, tenants will be the real long term losers!
Agreed, tenants are always utter losers. If they had any financial sense they'd own a couple properties up north and rent them to the poors up there, but I guess they're more interested in woke communism. I own my properties and should be able to charge whatever I like! And if they can't pay, they're out on their bottom and I can keep their property until they pay up. Will report them for child abuse too. All the love is shown to "poor" tenants. Where is the love and support for landlords??
Let's hope Liz Truss or new housing minister doesn't try to follow suit, although if she is as right wing as she appears, it should not be a problem?
Unlikely to if she sticks to anywhere near to her ideological principles, would be a left of party/liberal owned policy.
Can we freeze tradesman costs, material costs, mortgage costs. Can we freeze all supermarket costs. Aye aye aye!
Listening to it now, they are temporarily banning evictions once more as well until at least March. Need to introduce emergency legislation for rent freeze, but are going to back date it to today, so no chance for any sneaky rent increases this afternoon.
So less landlords in Bonnie Scotland 🏴 👍🏻, as said by others, I hope our new PM does not copy Wee Willy Krankie
I can’t wait to get out of being a landlord. Who the F do these people think they are banning evictions and freezing rents?????
Landlords don’t have problems? Increase costs generally let alone imposed by the public sector through tax and regs.
This country is going down the toilet.
Brexit was just the start.
Agreed. Where are the woke leftist marches for OUR rights???/ Landlord Lives Matter. But no the WOKE COMMUNIST government talks about "poor tenants". We landlords are really struggling. I have only seven properties and I'm lucky I raised rents on all of them three months ago, but not all landlords are as shrewd as I am.
The Scottish government will indeed reap what they sow. This is just the start, and many landlords will see which way the wind is blowing and sell up. Rents will be the same, but most renters will have no chance of securing one of the few available properties in their area.
All because the government are too short sighted to realise that they could lower taxes, lower regulation, remove Stamp duty, allow the quick removal of non paying tenants. This would lead to a huge increase in landlords entering the market, in turn leading to increased availability of properties, which would lead to lower prices as landlords would have to compete for tenants. This is how rents should be frozen in a way that would lead to renters and landlords being happier. But hey, why do something that works when you can do something that simply sounds good.
Agree completely. If a tenant is one day late with rent, they should be out on the street and all their property is rendered forfeit. We can sell it all to cover the rent and emotional harm to us. No ifs, no buts. They signed the contract!! Blacklist them to all other landlords too. They should respect their superiors.
Now I'm a smaller landlord and try to be humble, I have only seven properties right now, but I've put in a BIG investment, and I expect a return on that. Communist tenants and antifa government should be in jail.
If Liz Truss doesn't want to go the same way as Boris she will not try and appease those who are never going to vote for her anyway! Sure... this isn't rocket science, but Boris certainly didn't get it...
Banks can put interest rates up but landlords can't increase the rent. Are contractual rent increases permitted or is Sturgeon overruling contract law now? Banks can charge 40% interest on overdrafts caused by tenants not paying rents to landlords, but the maximum charge to a tenant for interest by a landlord is 3% above base rate. Banks can charge late payment charges but landlords can't. A bit of a pattern developing here, landlords are the villains providing accommodation. This must be what it is like in China and Russia!
Banks are guaranteed possession always and are at limited risk, making Tenants homeless doesn’t count when it’s the Bank, the landlord has to put in a big up front percentage to get the Mortgage and responsible for all the money, where as the Lender has limited liability and can demand entitlement to the whole property even though only put up part of the finance and are treated as preferential creditors. So why don’t owners have full rights of possession regardless and should be more entitled than the lender, or is it that it doesn’t matter when it our money, such hypocrisy.
No doubt about it.....time to leave the building
Freezing Rents at a time costs are rocketing is probably a recipe to kill the Housing Market dead and plunge the Economy is into a Recession or are we in it. Figure don’t stack up any of those guys do Arithmetic.
Agreed. At this point we landlords need to take the laws into our own hands and raise rents anyway. If Rosa Parks can ride on a bus then we landlords can raise rents in defiance of the law. If enough of us do this then we are sure of success.
I'm happy to take the law into my hands, done so before and will do so again if the need arises
Nice trolling Ken , 3/10
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