FMQs: Tenants' rights crucial to tackling broken housing market
Hundreds of thousands of renters will be forced to pay unaffordable above-inflation rent rises due to the unfair formula the SNP has proposed for calculating rent controls, say the Scottish Greens.
Speaking at First Minister’s Questions, Maggie Chapman MSP called for the Scottish Government to address concerns raised by tenants across Scotland about the watering down of rent controls.
Ms Chapman asked the First Minister:
“What is the Scottish Government's response to reported concerns that its proposed formula for calculating rent controls in the Housing Bill will require above-inflation rent rises for hundreds of thousands of renters, thus not tackling unaffordable rents."
Ms Chapman also highlighted that the watering down of the Bill proposed by the Scottish Government will remove the power for councils to implement their own local rent freezes when tenants face spiralling rent prices.
The Scottish Greens secured a crucial nationwide rent freeze during the COVID pandemic alongside a moratorium on evictions, which protected thousands of renters from homelessness.
Asking the First Minister, Maggie Chapman said:
“In 2022, the Cost of Living Scotland Act provided two vital protections for tenants at a time of health and economic crisis: a moratorium on evictions and a rent freeze.
“Why does the Government now believe that even the most extreme high rents should always keep going up faster than other prices?
“Why is the Government now seeking to remove the power for councils to implement their own local rent freezes during times of spiralling prices and rents, which would help them tackle homelessness?”
If the Scottish Government’s proposals are approved, councils will not be able to determine their own local rent control levels, like a rent freeze at times of extreme hardship, without the Scottish Parliament changing the law.