Meeting of the Parliament 08 March 2023
Thank you, Presiding Officer. Before my comments, I remind members of my entry in the register of interests, which shows that I own rental properties in Moray.
Six months ago, the Government rushed through legislation, without consultation, to freeze rents and continue an eviction ban across Scotland. Although the policy appeared to be well intentioned, the Scottish Conservatives repeatedly warned the minister that it would have damaging consequences for the housing sector. Those warnings fell on deaf ears. The minister appeared to know better, but clearly he did not.
Since the legislation was passed, plans to build 11,000 new affordable homes in Glasgow have been paused—£1 billion-worth of investment has been halted. House builders and landlords have lost confidence in the Government, and to prove it the Scottish Association of Landlords has launched a judicial review of the emergency legislation. If the Scottish Government loses the case, it could be liable for compensating all who are affected. I am not sure whether the minister has even considered that.
However, the minister now wants Parliament to extend the provisions of the legislation for six months, which will allow a 3 per cent rent increase in the private sector and an unregulated rise in the social sector. The big question for most people is about how the Government came up with the figure of 3 per cent. Was it based on evidence, or was the figure plucked from thin air? I believe that the minister needs to justify it by sharing his workings, because to me it looks no better than a guesstimate.
I believe that a rent cap will impede many landlords from having the capital to make what are increasingly expensive updates to their properties, many of which are mandated by legislation. In the long term, it does not make sense to renovate a private rental property when the landlord will only ever make the basic minimum or have to remove it from the rental market. Scotland’s rental sector cannot be allowed to shrink.
The Government damages the private sector at its peril, I believe. The sector provides 340,000 homes, but that number is falling, and it will fall even further if the Government continues to penalise landlords. I remind Parliament that I believe that we need every single one of those houses. A drop in the supply of homes will, after all, hurt tenants most.
I believe that the SSI will penalise private rental landlords and that, in the long term, it will hurt tenants. I call on members to oppose the SSI; it is based on a guesstimate.