Hansard

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

23 Mar 2016

Portfolio Question Time · Temporary Accommodation (Time Limit)

We are continually reviewing the use of temporary accommodation for all homeless people. From the end of March 2016, local authorities will begin the mandatory collection of information on the length of time that is spent in temporary accommodation. That will help to inform th...

The Minister for Housing and Welfare (Margaret Burgess) SNP Chamber

23 Mar 2016

Portfolio Question Time · Temporary Accommodation (Time Limit)

Time limits already exist on the use of unsuitable accommodation for families with children and pregnant women. The provision of temporary accommodation is an important part of local authorities’ duties for homeless households in Scotland and provides a vital safety net for th...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

23 Mar 2016

Portfolio Question Time · People and Communities Fund

The Government recognises the importance of funding for our community groups to help to empower them to deliver the local priorities that matter most to them. That is why, despite our tight spending review, we have maintained a £20 million commitment to support the family of e...

The Minister for Housing and Welfare (Margaret Burgess) SNP Chamber

23 Mar 2016

Portfolio Question Time · People and Communities Fund

On Monday I announced a budget of £10.755 million for the people and communities fund in 2016-17, which will support nearly 190 continuing community-led fund projects throughout Scotland with a further year of funding. An evaluation of the people and communities fund will be c...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

23 Mar 2016

Portfolio Question Time · New Homes

As I have said on a number of occasions, house building rates in Scotland have been consistently higher in each and every year since 2007. The 336 homes built per 100,000 population in Scotland compare with 237 built per 100,000 population in England and 207 homes per 100,000 ...

The Minister for Housing and Welfare (Margaret Burgess) SNP Chamber

23 Mar 2016

Portfolio Question Time · New Homes

Under this Government, over the 2007-08 to 2014-15 period, an average of 336 new homes per 100,000 population have been built in Scotland per year across all tenures.

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

23 Mar 2016

Portfolio Question Time · Affordable Housing (East Kilbride)

If it is re-elected, the Government will certainly be willing to discuss with the member and South Lanarkshire Council their plans for affordable housing in East Kilbride. We have increased the resource planning assumption for South Lanarkshire from £10.16 million in 2015-16 t...

The Minister for Housing and Welfare (Margaret Burgess) SNP Chamber

23 Mar 2016

Portfolio Question Time · Affordable Housing (East Kilbride)

The Scottish Government works closely with housing providers throughout South Lanarkshire to increase the supply of affordable housing. In East Kilbride, 238 new affordable homes were built between 2011-12 and 2014-15. We expect to see a further 72 new homes completed in the t...

The Minister for Housing and Welfare (Margaret Burgess) SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill

I thank everyone who contributed to the development of the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill, including members of all parties and all stakeholders. I am grateful to those stakeholders for their considered thoughts on the bill, while the Government was shaping its po...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I simply say to Alex Johnstone that if they were the same we would not be here considering a bill on private residential tenancies. Amendment 35 agreed to. After section 54 Amendments 36 and 37 moved—Margaret Burgess—and agreed to. Section 55—Partner’s entitlement to inher...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Schedule 3 to the bill currently contains a mandatory repossession ground that enables a landlord to regain possession of a property if the landlord or a family member of the landlord intends to live in the property. When a family member wishes to live in the let property, my...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Nothing further. Amendment 25 agreed to. Section 37—Qualification of sub-tenant protection

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill

Ken Macintosh said that the target that we have set, which we will work towards if we are re-elected in the next parliamentary session, is not ambitious enough. The target is for a 67 per cent increase in affordable housing supply and it is higher than the proposed target in t...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill

Ken Macintosh and all the members who spoke in favour of the proposed charter compared it to the Scottish social housing charter, which applies in the social rented sector. There are considerable costs involved in relation to that charter, because the sector is regulated and t...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill

As Clare Adamson and Jim Eadie both said, the issue did not come up once at the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee. No stakeholders made such a proposal to me. Although the charter that Ken Macintosh proposed might seem like an attractive idea, it would mark a hug...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill

I am grateful for the general support for the bill that we have had from members across the chamber. There has been absolute recognition of the fact that the bill is about rebalancing the relationship between landlords and tenants so that it works for the modern private rented...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Rent arrears are an important issue for landlords and tenants and can ultimately make a landlord’s business unviable. Landlords need to be confident that in letting out their property they will receive the rent. Many landlords in the private rented sector are not large busines...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

The bill currently provides that, for the abandonment eviction ground to be met, the tribunal must be satisfied that the tenant is not occupying a property as his or her only or principal home, and requires the landlord to provide evidence to that effect. In practice, a landl...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Amendment 107 is similar to an amendment that Alex Johnstone lodged at stage 2. I continue to have concerns about what it is trying to achieve, as it could result in an individual or a family being evicted from their home so that an employee or a retired employee of the landlo...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

At stage 2, I strengthened both of those eviction grounds by outlining the types of evidence that may be considered by the tribunal when assessing a landlord’s intention. The refurbishment ground applies only when a landlord intends to carry out significantly disruptive work...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I am grateful to Adam Ingram for lodging the redrafted amendments, which I am happy to support. I will speak first to amendment 53. The existing statutory term would have enabled landlords to manage their properties effectively, and amendment 53 amends the statutory term furt...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Alex Johnstone’s amendments 95 to 97 would exempt all students from the new tenancy, which means that they would instead rent through a common-law tenancy or occupancy agreement simply because they were students. I cannot support that. I believe that all tenants in the private...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Patrick Harvie is right that the Government will not support his amendment 94. Landlords need to be confident when letting their property that they will be able to sell it with vacant possession. Property valuation for landlords is important, so not being able to evict the ten...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Ken Macintosh proposes a significant change to the bill. Indeed, it would impact not only on the bill, but on the financial memorandum. The charter for the social sector came out of a lengthy process involving lots of consultation with those involved. There has been no consult...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

On the face of it, the idea of a charter that lies behind Ken Macintosh’s amendments may seem an attractive proposition. However, like Jim Eadie and Alex Johnstone, I have to say that no one in the consultations on our proposals for the bill—we consulted extensively—or during ...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

The succession rights that we set out in the bill are the same as the succession rights in social tenancies. They are well known and approved and it will not be difficult for people to find their way around them. What we are doing is the right thing to do, as Clare Adamson said.

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

The bill as introduced would have required an executor to terminate the tenancy if the sole tenant died and nobody inherited, and it gave a right to inherit only to the dead tenant’s bereaved partner. I have listened to the evidence that was given to the Infrastructure and Ca...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

The bill contains a repossession ground that enables a lender to regain possession of a property when they intend to sell it. Amendment 32 will ensure that a lender who is entitled to sell the property can apply for an eviction order in the same way that a landlord can. I mov...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I amended the bill at stage 2 to remove the initial period, as I had concluded that having an initial period was likely to cause problems for various groups of tenants, which I judged best to avoid. I noted the concerns that the Infrastructure and Capital Investment Committee ...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

We have struck a reasonable balance. We have listened to all sides in the debate about the repossession ground being discretionary or mandatory. I make it clear that, whether a ground is discretionary or mandatory, the tribunal must be sure that the ground has been established...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Since 1449, legislation has protected Scottish tenants from losing their tenancies when ownership of the properties that they lease changes hands, whether by sale, deeds, death or otherwise. Amendment 25 ensures that private residential tenants will have that protection. It me...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I do not support the amendment, but not on the ground that Alex Johnstone has just outlined—I want to be absolutely clear about that. I have concerns about the amendment in relation to its timescale, which involves conducting a review three years after the bill receives royal...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I have debated that issue previously with Patrick Harvie. We said that we would consult on increasing rents in rent hot-spot areas, and that is what we are doing. What Patrick Harvie proposes would not help the very people whom he suggests would be helped. In areas where rent...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Patrick Harvie may feel that he might have gone further with amendments 19 to 24, but I believe that he has managed to strike a good balance, which is why the Government is happy to support them. However, his amendments 80 to 82 seek to broaden the scope of the criteria for a ...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

I will speak to amendments 19 to 24, 80 to 82, 43 and 44. I thank Patrick Harvie for his contribution and I am pleased to support his amendments 19 to 24.

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Okay, Presiding Officer—Interruption.

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

The bill provides that when a landlord’s proposed rent increase is referred by a tenant, a rent officer can set the tenant’s rent at what he or she judges to be the open-market value. Amendment 12 allows a rent officer to correct an error in an order that he or she has issued,...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

The bill requires landlords to provide tenants with certain things. Section 8 imposes an obligation in relation to the written terms of the tenancy, while section 9 imposes a separate obligation in relation to other information that may be specified by regulations. Where those...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Amendment 7 is a technical amendment that extends the meaning of tenancy and connected expressions in other enactments to include a private residential tenancy. Various statutes lay down rules in relation to tenancies. When the word “tenancy” is used in a statute, it ordinari...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

We have not done so in this bill, but we are discussing with the environment minister how we can address agricultural tenancies, in the context of repairs, in the next parliamentary session. Amendment 6 agreed to. After section 4 14:45

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

The bill as introduced specified a 56-day default notice period for tenancies that had lasted more than six months. Amendments 28 and 29 simply tidy up section 39 in consequence of the amendments at stage 2 and do not in any way change the substance of the provision. Amendmen...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Amendments 6, 45 and 69 are minor tidying amendments that will have no impact on the policy or operation of the new tenancy. At stage 2, the bill was amended so that the default notice period that tenants must give to end a tenancy is 28 days, irrespective of the tenancy’s du...

Margaret Burgess SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

As I said, amendment 5 is a technical amendment that ensures that, if someone is operating as a landlord, there is someone in the premises and the landlord has not provided the appropriate documents, they cannot use that as an excuse to say that the person does not have a priv...

The Minister for Housing and Welfare (Margaret Burgess) SNP Chamber

17 Mar 2016

Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill: Stage 3

Amendment 5 is a technical amendment that ensures that formal writing is not required to create a private residential tenancy. Under section 8 of the bill, a landlord is required to set out in writing all the terms of the tenancy and to provide the tenant with a written tenan...

Margaret Burgess SNP Committee

02 Mar 2016

Housing

That increase was proposed in the “Joint Housing Delivery Plan for Scotland”. We listened to stakeholders, who said that they did not know whether they could continue to build and develop houses at the existing subsidy level, which they felt needed to be looked at again. The s...

Margaret Burgess SNP Committee

02 Mar 2016

Housing

We have said that we will look very carefully at both reports that have been mentioned, because they are substantial pieces of work that will help to inform how we go forward. The target of 50,000 homes that we have set is bold, credible and achievable, and it is backed by mor...

Margaret Burgess SNP Committee

02 Mar 2016

Housing

Thank you. 10:39 Meeting suspended. 10:42 On resuming—

Margaret Burgess SNP Committee

02 Mar 2016

Housing

Why am I smiling? Laughter.

Margaret Burgess SNP Committee

02 Mar 2016

Housing

No, I have covered everything.

Margaret Burgess SNP Committee

02 Mar 2016

Housing

I appreciate the issues that rural communities face and I have visited some of those communities to discuss those, as has Fergus Ewing, who has been very vociferous with the UK Government about the difficulties that are faced by rural areas as a result of some UK Government pl...

Margaret Burgess SNP Committee

02 Mar 2016

Housing

We all agree that fuel poverty is regrettable. Since 2009, we have spent more than £500 million on fuel poverty and energy efficiency measures and 71 per cent of properties are now band C or above. However, some energy efficient properties are still deemed to be in fuel povert...

Margaret Burgess SNP Committee

02 Mar 2016

Housing

The programme is not specifically about housing; it is about bringing together the budgets that relate to housing and some of the budgets in the energy portfolio. That work is on-going in the Government. John Swinney was clear that there is a budget for the work in the curren...

Margaret Burgess SNP Committee

02 Mar 2016

Housing

Some of it involves what we have just been talking about. It is all part of the same package. Scotland’s energy efficiency programme is a move on from the home energy efficiency programme Scotland that currently operates. It integrates non-domestic and domestic properties to m...

Margaret Burgess SNP Committee

02 Mar 2016

Housing

I might not have seen that particular one but I have seen projects of a similar nature that have energy efficiency levels that are way above standard. However, we need to look at the balance. If a new property was for sale, the energy efficiency measures would impact on the pr...

Margaret Burgess SNP Committee

02 Mar 2016

Housing

We are doing that. We set higher standards last year and the bar was also raised a few years before. We have given an additional financial incentive to raise standards in social housing through a subsidy, and we are encouraging private landlords to increase their standards thr...

Margaret Burgess SNP Committee

02 Mar 2016

Housing

We are always looking at the energy efficiency of new-build homes and any changes that we can make to the standards. The last changes to the standards, which were made in October 2015, provide for highly energy efficient properties. However, people throughout the sector tell u...

Margaret Burgess SNP Committee

02 Mar 2016

Housing

When we were looking at the issue, I do not think that it was specifically about changing housing standards. New-build properties are now built to an energy efficiency level that is sufficiently high to meet standards. I think that most are built to standard C or above, or pos...

Margaret Burgess SNP Committee

02 Mar 2016

Housing

A timescale has not been set. The issue is being looked at as part of Scotland’s energy efficiency programme. We also have a number of on-going strands on energy efficiency, climate change and fuel poverty. They will certainly be looked at early in the next parliamentary session.

Margaret Burgess SNP Committee

02 Mar 2016

Housing

The consultation was delayed mainly because of uncertainty over what was happening with the UK Government’s announcements about changes to the energy company obligation and the green deal. We had to stop our green deal cash-back scheme. For that reason, and because of uncertai...

Margaret Burgess SNP Committee

02 Mar 2016

Housing

Reports will come to the committee on the help to adapt scheme and how it has operated, whether there were any drawbacks, whether there are any lessons to be learned, and how we can make changes to it to make sure that it meets our intentions.