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Rent Controls legislation to be unveiled next autumn

The Scottish Government, despite being in the middle of electing a new First Minister, is pressing ahead with legislation for long-term private rent controls.

Patrick Harvie, the government’s housing minister - a Green Party member, working in alliance with the Scottish National Party - has made the commitment.

In an answer to a Labour Member of the Scottish Parliament, Harvie said: “Long term rent control measures will be included in the forthcoming Housing Bill which is expected to be introduced as soon as possible after the 2023 summer recess. This will allow the Scottish Government to meet its commitment to rent controls by 2025.”

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He continued: “The Scottish Government has led on housing issues whether that’s the abolition of Right To Buy, or investment in social housing, and most recently the emergency rent freeze in the light of the cost of living crisis, and our long term commitment to national rent controls.

“And I know that many Labour colleagues have great enthusiasm for that programme to continue.”

Harvie and other MSPs said they could not comment in detail on current temporary rent controls which are subject of legal action 

Lettings agents’ body Propertymark - along with the Scottish Association of Landlords and Scottish Land and Estates - have submitted a Petition to the Court of Session in Edinburgh seeking a Judicial Review of the Scottish Government’s rent control and eviction ban legislation, first introduced last year.

In the petition, the three groups say they believe the law is disproportionate and unfair. This is further exacerbated by the decision to retain rent control for the private rented sector and remove it for the social rented sector from April.

Specifically, the petition highlights:

- The rent control applies irrespective of the financial position of both the tenant and landlord;

- The recent decision by the Scottish Government to remove the cap for social landlords means a well-off individual renting in the private sector is provided financial protection not available to someone in more challenging financial circumstances in the social sector;

- In the decision to remove the rent control in the social sector, the Scottish Government acknowledges the need for maintenance of these properties but has not given the same consideration to landlords in the private sector; 

- The law does not make any distinction or provide relief based on different circumstances of landlords, between larger, institutional companies who might be able to shoulder increased costs, and individual landlords who cannot; and 

- The eviction ban creates a delay in addressing matters such as arrears which adversely impacts landlord cash flow culminating in a reduction in capital value.

The petition further argues that by discriminating in the way it does, the law breaches the European Convention of Human Rights which states “The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in the Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as … association with … property…”

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    The Scottish government is above all else leading in causing more homelessness.

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    No one In England voted for a Scottish parliament. The SNP is totally illegal. Price controls have been disastrous in energy and anywhere they are applied. It's a basic communist technique to take state control of everything. Homeless is being caused by massive immigration!

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    Why would anyone in England vote for the Scottish Parliament, and how does that lead to the SNP being illegal?

     
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    Only a minority of Scots voted for the SNP and only a tiny minority voted Green (actually deep Red) but we're currently stuck with them, even if Saint Nicola is moving on to higher things (UN?).

    Hopefully the Greens will suffer like the Lib Dems did in 2015 after betraying many of their voters.

  • George Dawes

    They’ve been told they don’t work , they know they don’t work , they’ve been proven to not work countless times

    But they’re still going ahead , like the lockdowns…and the masks etc etc

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    That's what you get from a communist inspired pseudo government,
    where ideology rules and common sense is discarded.
    We have exactly the same problem here in Wales with second rate politicians imposing their socialist rhetoric upon us daily, with woke policies destined to return us to the dark ages.

     
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    What did Marie Antoinette say ( although there is debate)… let them eat cake 🎂… Well let the Scottish people suffer the consequences of their voting behaviour 👍🏻

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    However the vast majority of us are suffering because around 4% voted Green!

     
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    Interesting pice in the Daily Telegraph about how Finland solved its housing problem not by further regulation but by deregulation! Apparently supply shot up & rents came down. Choice for tenants mens rents come down & standards go up. Not much chance of that happening here though!

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    Far too enlightened for this government… or Labour for that matter.

     
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    This unjustified attack on Private Landlords don’t just damage the letting side of Housing but the whole Housing Market, causing repossessions, crash and Recession.
    When things are going well it has to be stopped not allowed. It has to be interfered with like last Recession 2007/2008 cause for most part but not limited to Mr John Prescott 2004 Act introducing Mandatory licensing Scheme in 2006 so it only took a year to filter through 2007/2008 wallop.
    Here we go again this time the interference is by Mr Michael Gove and the unfairer White Paper Abolishing Section 21 he has a lot to answer for, all those misfortunate naive young people roped into help to buy over priced Flats who do they turn to now.

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