FMQs: SNP must act to protect tenants from rent hikes
Renters across Scotland will be fearing extra costs as a result of the SNP’s decision to end protections that were introduced by the Scottish Greens, said Scottish Green Co-leader Patrick Harvie at First Minister’s Questions today.
Raising examples of landlords who tried to breach the rules with punishing rises, revealed this week by The National, Mr Harvie urged the Scottish Government to back Green calls for steps to actively cut excessive rents.
In his first question to the First Minister, Mr Harvie said:
“On Monday this week, the Scottish Government withdrew critical protection against rent rises.
“For the first time in years, landlords will now have the power to instantly set rents back to uncontrolled free market levels - tenants won’t be able to stop it, and won’t be able to afford it.
“Let's be clear about the scale of the SNP’s rent hikes. Data from Generation Rent and Living Rent showed that even when protections were in place, some landlords still tried to break the rules.
“In Glasgow, one landlord tried to double the rent from £700 to £1400.
“But until this week, thanks to the temporary rent protections that I was proud to introduce, they could be stopped. That unbelievable increase was capped by the regulator at £784 instead of £1400.
“Does the First Minister now understand why tenants across Scotland are so fearful about what he has done?"
In his response the First Minister did not commit to reinstating the protections that had been introduced by Mr Harvie during his time as a Minister.
In his second question, Mr Harvie said:
“He talks about the protections that I just described, but the point is that these protections ended this week. They are no longer there protecting people.
“When these figures were put to the Minister for Housing all he could say was that he was asking landlords to be “sensible” with these new, utterly uncontrolled powers.
“In truth there is now nothing to hold back a tide of unaffordable rises.
“And the Scottish Government hasn’t even published an assessment of the number of people who will lose their homes as a result.
“The protection the Greens introduced succeeded in preventing eye-watering rent increases.
“Rents are already too high in Scotland. And with energy bills going up and social security under attack, people need a Government here that will be on their side.
“So will the First Minister think again, stop watering down the new Housing Bill, and make sure that it can cut rents instead of locking in ever more rent hikes for the future?”