Great day for tenants but work for better housing continues
Patrick Harvie, Glasgow MSP and co-convenor of the Scottish Green Party, has today welcomed the new Private Tenancies (Housing) (Scotland) Bill, but said that the legislation was 'only the first step' towards rent controls and stronger rights for tenants.
The bill will increase security of tenure and flexibility for tenants, and allow councils to implement 'rent pressure zones' in areas where rent prices are rising particularly fast.
Patrick Harvie said the passage of the bill marked a 'great day' for Scotland's tenants, but highlighted that compared to other European countries, Scotland's private rented sector still needed to catch-up on nationwide rent controls and tenants' rights.
The Scottish Greens have policy on a points-based rent control system, where rents are set according to the quality, location and size of a property.
Patrick Harvie said:
"This is a great day for Scotland's tenants, but just the first step towards better, more affordable housing. Until today, the private rented sector in Scotland has been practically a free for all, with few rights for tenants and rents rising to totally unaffordable levels in places like Glasgow, Aberdeen and the Highlands. We still have so much more to do to raise standards here to the same level as many European countries, where rents are regulated and tenants can feel safe in the knowledge they can stay in their rented home as long as they want to.
"The Scottish Greens believe we can, and must go further to make the private rented sector a safe and affordable place for people to live. We want to see a proper system of nationwide rent controls implemented during the next parliament, and regulation that make it possible for tenants to stay in the properties they rent for as long as they need to - even when the property is sold.
"With a growing number of Scots being forced to rent privately, we have to make sure that they can find a secure, affordable home there. As with Land Reform, the Scottish Government is too timid to opt for the radical private rented sector reform that is really needed. With a bigger group of Green MSPs elected in May, we are committed to putting rent controls and tenants' rights on the top of the political agenda."