Activists are calling for a two month rent-free period for any tenant evicted “through no fault of their own.”

The call is made by Generation Rent in what it calls a “manifesto” for the Scottish Parliament elections due next month.

It claims tenants evicted – perhaps because a landlord has to sell the property – should receive the rent-free period “as they face the significant financial, logistical and

emotional toil” of moving. 

The activists say this should be called “Relocation Relief”.

And Generation Rent claims that “in the case of eviction for sale, the significant windfall that a landlord would receive for the sale would outweigh the cost of two months

unpaid rent.

“Similarly, in the case of eviction for occupation by the landlord or their family, the landlord is clearly already anticipating no longer requiring rent from the property in the very near future.”

The activists claim research has shown that an unwanted move costs the average private renter household in Scotland would spend £2,041 when leaving and having to find alternative accommodation.

The manifesto also admits that Scotland pioneered a register of landlords in the UK but the activists say this doesn’t go far enough and “must do much more to hold landlords to account and let renters check what a property and landlord is like before signing a tenancy.”

For example, Generation Rent remands that “at a minimum” the register must include Energy efficiency information; Gas and electrical safety certification; a history of fines, tribunal cases and deposit disputes; and rent data.