The politician who is the architect of an emergency private sector rent freeze set to come into force this week has attacked landlords for “hard to justify” rent increases.
The Tenants’ Rights minister in the Scottish Government - the Green Party’s Patrick Harvie - says: “The cost-of-living crisis is an emergency situation demanding an emergency response. Even as energy, food bills and other day-to-day basics become more expensive, today’s legislation freezing rents and protecting tenants from eviction will give tenants stability in their homes and confidence about their housing costs.
“People who rent their homes are more likely to live in poverty or be on low incomes than homeowners. As such they are particularly exposed to rising prices, and it is imperative that we bring in support for them urgently.
“We know that many landlords have been doing what they can to protect their tenants, but some tenants are being hit with large rent increases that are hard to justify. This legislation aims to protect all tenants from substantial increases, balancing the protections that are urgently needed for tenants with safeguards for those landlords who may also be impacted by the cost crisis.”
If approved by Scottish members of parliament this week, the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Bill will give ministers temporary power to cap rents for private and social tenancies, with this cap set at 0% – effectively freezing rents – from tomorrow until at least March 31 2023, and possibly for a year even beyond that.
Enforcement of eviction actions resulting from the cost crisis will be prevented over the same period except in a number of specified circumstances.
Damages for unlawful evictions will be increased to a maximum of 36 months’ worth of rent. These measures will also apply to students in college or university halls of residence or other types of purpose-built accommodation.
The legislation includes what the Scottish Government calls “safeguards” for private sector landlords, allowing them to apply to increase rent to partially cover a limited number of specific costs including increased mortgage interest payments on the property they are letting, an increase in landlords’ insurance or increases in service charges paid as part of a tenancy, subject to an overall limit.
And a government statement goes on to say: “Safeguards for both social and private sector landlords, as well as providers of college and university halls and other purpose-built student accommodation, are included in the Bill’s provisions on evictions.”
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Supply and demand , obviously beyond the grasp of the average politician
It is supply and demand up to a point but people need a roof for the same reasons that they need food, police protection and medical treatment. Life has ups and downs for both the economy and individuals. It is a matter of give and take. If you are saying that roofs are to be traded like commodities, you are in the wrong business.
So Echis. Do you think food prices should be regulated as well? I haven't noticed anyone calling for supermarket prices to be capped.
'Hard to justify rent increases' when we have inflation at over 10% ? everyone's increasing their rates and the cost of their products, that's justification in it's self.
Funny, my cost of living is going up too.
Perhaps MP's will vote for a 0% rise in salary
Less PRS in the north it appears.
So we won’t have laws or justice system anymore making a mockery of the whole System.
Rent freeze while all our cost are rising, being robbed by compliance schemes, having just bailed out Tenants in the pandemic.
Never mind all that give them back the Deposit plus 3 more Deposits you never got, now give them back 3 years Rent you never got. I hope the World is watching the good old British Justice system that they used to look up to, now making it a farce and a mockery.
Well said, I couldn't agree more.
Politicians shamelessly protect the right of literally every other business to raise costs without having to justify it to anyone. In fact they use the fact that everything else is going up in price as justification to stop landlords raising rents.
What a joke - let’s see how many of the politicians that vote this through, will be as quick to explain it is exactly this that will be the cause of renters not being able to find anywhere to live.
It's already happening in Glasgow. 500 chasing a 1 bed flat and the University advising students to defer because they can't find anywhere to rent.
"give tenants stability in their homes" except it's not theirs. They only rent it. How about stability for the home OWNER!?
Agreed. A ban on interest rate rises should also follow. If I don’t want to buy something because of the price I walk away. Oh they can’t because the same idiots asking for a freeze gave away the social housing at a discount and failed to build more. But that’s ok we can just effectively steal private property and the legal owners who worked hard to get it can just suck it up!!
Stability for the home PROVIDER.
Lefties. Soon they will run out of OUR money.
Gas, electricity, food, fuel, mortgage interest and rent..................
Why is it only rent that should be frozen? Why is it only tenants who should be protected from eviction when they can't/won't pay? Just like during the pandemic, because a rented home is essential to tenants, people can avoid paying, but God forbid you walk out of Tescos with a trolley full of free food and expect to get away with it.......or don't pay your horrific gas bill or mortgage!
It's a simple maths. Number of votes counts. There are more tenants than Landlords so politicians are after tenants votes in short term and are short sighted
How many tenants are likely to vote tory ?
Sadly very true
I don’t know about everyone else but these sort of headlines force me to consider upping my rents now where they are below market, which most of my currents tenants now are, so I’m not left high and dry as they become available. This will mean some will struggle so what do I do then? Perhaps just let them get behind and not take any action unless they get further behind than the original rent??? What a mess!!
I've thought this, maybe increase the rent on paper then agree a discount to good tenants
Can't speak for Scotland. But strange how in England that politicians who tell us we should make sacrifices ( MPs and Councillors) never make sacrifices themselves. All very keen on increasing their own pay and allowances .
According to the SNP, the only sacrifice Scottish voters are making is getting a Government they didn't vote for!
Less than half the Scottish electorate voted for the SNP and only a tiny minority voted for the "Greens" (actually very deep reds) who currently are calling all the shots.
Every landlord who can do so should be raising their rents by as much as possible whilst it IS still possible and blame the SNP because it looks as if every UK Government is hell bent on following their lead. I'll certainly be increasing all my rents by as much as possible as soon as this rent freeze ends and making sure the tenants know who to blame!
My rents haven't increased since June 2018, so sorry I didn't put them up in June this year!
“We know that many landlords have been doing what they can to protect their tenants"
This should be corrected to MOST....I'm sick of this false narrative.
In the spirit of compromise, how about rent reviews every 2 years capped to inflation rate at the time of renewal? A message to all you tenant support groups, this would be worse for tenants though.....as most anti landlord legislation ends up being. You just can't stop meddling can you....
I have one protected tenant, I can apply to the rent officer every 2 years for an inflation rate increase, so of course I do, next increase is do Feb 23 and I can put the application in Nov, it's in an envelope waiting to be posted next month
You just have to love this comment from the idiot Patrick Harvie
“People who rent their homes are more likely to live in poverty or be on low incomes than homeowners. As such they are particularly exposed to rising prices, and it is imperative that we bring in support for them urgently". The part "its imperative we bring in support for them urgently" I don't see how Patrick Harvie or Scottish Government is supporting them? They are demanding us landlords support them.
So Patrick, tell us how you are supporting these tenants? You could make interest free loans available, paid back over a 3 or 5 year period? Of course you wont, its up to the big bad landlord to do your dirty work and despite being forced to do it, guess what, we will still be the big bad landlord.
Tenants will move on naturally, any property i do not sell, my rents from now on will be the maximum I can get away with, when previously I was 20-30% below the market and never increased rents year on year. Those days are now long gone, this will not be forgotten
Agree with what you e said Graham. We have always tried to play very fair with our tenants and rents but they will be raised to the local market price at change of tenancy now. We have just renewed 3 BTL yesterday and every monthly payment has doubled!
If a home owner can't afford the mortgage payments as they shoot up (and that will be the case for many shortly) the bank repossesses the house and sells it to someone who can afford it. Why is it so difficult for LLs to do the same?
I'll tell you what's not fair. Renters get more help then homeowners. As I own my own home and have more then 16k in assets, I get no help, even though I have been on close to minimum wage all my life.
I am just catching up didn’t get a chance to look at a phone today, just got home at 2
MPH thanks Mr Sadiq Khan the Mayor, will now extend ULEZ out to M 25 to cause further
mayhem.
Mr Mayor. Also going to introduce a new Digital Portal to screw Landlords, mind your own business its not your property.
Mine already got discounts during Pandemic like £100. pm and one property got £250. off from a low base, now I can’t get it back up and that’s the truth.
Why not Slam Lenders hard to justify trebling interest repayment for first time buyers.
Oh no that would never do they would go bust but its ok to bully and destroy Private Landlords who supply and subsidies quality affordable housing for millions of Tenants, aren’t they the lucky ones they could have an unaffordable Mortgage on a high rise that’s not worth the money they paid for it. Forget about no Stamp Duty that wasn’t for your benefit it was for big Developer to keep selling unaffordable property to you. My Rents are £75k pa below market value. Scrap THE WHITE PAPER NOW, Reinstate Section 21 to its full effect and Scrap S. 24 you morons.
All provable I don’t live in a cloud.
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