FMQs: Government urged to empower renters rights in Scotland
The Scottish Government has been urged to back Green proposals that will empower renters and improve housing rights.
Speaking at First Minister’s Questions, Scottish Green Co-Leader Patrick Harvie underlined his party’s long standing support for rent controls and urged the First Minister to rebalance the private let housing sector in favour of renters.
Mr Harvie asked the First Minister:
“I first raised the need for rent controls well over a decade ago, to the complete disinterest of the SNP Housing Minister of the day.
“By then private rented housing had already been growing dramatically for years, but rents had continued to spiral.
“The situation now is far more severe. Even if rent controls had been in place for the last five years, renters in places like Glasgow and Edinburgh would be thousands of pounds a year better off.
“I’m glad that Green efforts and the work of tenants’ unions have resulted in a Housing Bill with a rent control system for Scotland, even if it is weaker because of SNP amendments. I’m glad that our plans for energy efficiency rules for private landlords are also finally going to happen.
“But can the First Minister explain why it took so many years of pressure from the Greens to make the SNP accept that rents are too high, standards too low, and that urgent action is needed?”
In his response the First Minister reiterated his support for the upcoming Housing Bill that was first introduced by Mr Harvie as a Minister.
In his second question, Mr Harvie asked the First Minister:
“The frustration comes from the delay, and I know that the frustration is shared by SNP members who voted for rent control policies for many years without action happening.
“There was never any need for these many years of delay, and we could have done far more good for people by acting sooner.
“This Housing Bill must make rent more affordable, and it will need to be strengthened to do that.
“But it must also provide more protection and power for people who rent their homes.
“People deserve the right to withhold rent payments when issues like mould, damp and overdue repairs are being left by landlords for months, sometimes years on end.
“Will the First Minister back the Green proposal to give people the right to withhold rent payment until repairs are completed, to stop landlords from profiting while they ignore their responsibilities?
“Or is this another issue that will take 10 years of pressure before the government acts?”