Chamber
Meeting of the Parliament 04 June 2013
04 Jun 2013 · S4 · Meeting of the Parliament
Item of business
Private Rentals (Deposits)
I welcome the chance to debate the matter because, in my constituency, 41 per cent of households now live in the private rented sector. I do not know what the figure was in 1999, but the doubling of the sector has clearly had a particular effect on Edinburgh Central.
As the estimates are updated each year, Edinburgh Central usually exchanges with Glasgow Kelvin the accolade of having the highest concentration of private rented households. Interestingly, it also exchanges with Edinburgh Southern the accolade of the most expensive street for house prices, which perhaps shows how much of an upstairs-downstairs area it can be.
When an area has such a concentration of private rented households, it is not just the tenants who are affected by issues such as tenants’ deposits and landlord-tenant relations; entire neighbourhoods are affected. Neighbourhoods in central Edinburgh have had their very nature changed because of large-scale transitions in tenure.
The end of the motion points to the regulation of letting agents and of the sector, which is a proposal that I strongly endorse. The current system is straining under the weight of regulation in enforcing not just the deposit scheme but things that have been around for longer, such as landlord registration and the period within which the private rented housing panel should resolve cases.
There have been incremental changes that everyone has welcomed, but in each case they have come with a great challenge as regards enforcement. The tenant information pack for all tenants is most welcome, but we do not know whether there has been 100 per cent take-up, and I am already seeing casework involving letting agents who are finding—shall we say—creative ways to get round the law on premiums. The strategy for the private rented sector sets out three suggestions on the regulation of letting agents, at which we must look carefully, because there is a danger of minimal compliance with a lot of rules.
We should not forget that the populations that we are talking about are very hard to reach. In Edinburgh, we are talking about migrants, young people and people who used to be homeless and who are housed temporarily in the private rented sector. I often find that students have access to the best advice through their student associations and that it is the other large groups—in population terms—who encounter the problems.
Such people have a very odd relationship with landlords if difficulties come up. There are few relationships that we can think of that are like the landlord-tenant relationship: landlords have such power. The bad landlords will view as assets properties that all the groups that I have mentioned view as homes. Should a tenant want to make a challenge, the difficulties in seeing things through to a resolution include the turnover of tenants, which means that a tenant might well have moved on to a different let by the time that the PRHP can rule. It is also difficult to engage lawyers, especially in Edinburgh, where most of the lawyers represent landlords, which means that they cannot take on tenants’ cases because of a conflict of interest. There is also the fear of blacklisting—people worry that, if they complain about one landlord, they will find it harder to get their next let.
I welcome the motion, which focuses on tenancy deposits and looks at the wider sector. In addition, I very much welcome the private rented sector strategy, which wisely focuses on improving the operation of measures that have been inherited from previous Administrations, such as landlord registration and the PRHP. I welcome the idea of the online information hub, but, although that will benefit greatly some groups of private tenants such as young people, it will not reach them all. At all times, we must keep the hard-to-reach groups at the forefront of our minds.
Other issues that the strategy addresses include the regulation of letting agents and giving consideration to housing standards; after all, the private rented sector is almost at the bottom of the league when it comes to energy efficiency. It also invites consideration of the suitability of a new tenancy system, which I know that Shelter has argued for. That might go a long way towards turning flats and other properties that some might regard as assets truly into homes.
17:23
As the estimates are updated each year, Edinburgh Central usually exchanges with Glasgow Kelvin the accolade of having the highest concentration of private rented households. Interestingly, it also exchanges with Edinburgh Southern the accolade of the most expensive street for house prices, which perhaps shows how much of an upstairs-downstairs area it can be.
When an area has such a concentration of private rented households, it is not just the tenants who are affected by issues such as tenants’ deposits and landlord-tenant relations; entire neighbourhoods are affected. Neighbourhoods in central Edinburgh have had their very nature changed because of large-scale transitions in tenure.
The end of the motion points to the regulation of letting agents and of the sector, which is a proposal that I strongly endorse. The current system is straining under the weight of regulation in enforcing not just the deposit scheme but things that have been around for longer, such as landlord registration and the period within which the private rented housing panel should resolve cases.
There have been incremental changes that everyone has welcomed, but in each case they have come with a great challenge as regards enforcement. The tenant information pack for all tenants is most welcome, but we do not know whether there has been 100 per cent take-up, and I am already seeing casework involving letting agents who are finding—shall we say—creative ways to get round the law on premiums. The strategy for the private rented sector sets out three suggestions on the regulation of letting agents, at which we must look carefully, because there is a danger of minimal compliance with a lot of rules.
We should not forget that the populations that we are talking about are very hard to reach. In Edinburgh, we are talking about migrants, young people and people who used to be homeless and who are housed temporarily in the private rented sector. I often find that students have access to the best advice through their student associations and that it is the other large groups—in population terms—who encounter the problems.
Such people have a very odd relationship with landlords if difficulties come up. There are few relationships that we can think of that are like the landlord-tenant relationship: landlords have such power. The bad landlords will view as assets properties that all the groups that I have mentioned view as homes. Should a tenant want to make a challenge, the difficulties in seeing things through to a resolution include the turnover of tenants, which means that a tenant might well have moved on to a different let by the time that the PRHP can rule. It is also difficult to engage lawyers, especially in Edinburgh, where most of the lawyers represent landlords, which means that they cannot take on tenants’ cases because of a conflict of interest. There is also the fear of blacklisting—people worry that, if they complain about one landlord, they will find it harder to get their next let.
I welcome the motion, which focuses on tenancy deposits and looks at the wider sector. In addition, I very much welcome the private rented sector strategy, which wisely focuses on improving the operation of measures that have been inherited from previous Administrations, such as landlord registration and the PRHP. I welcome the idea of the online information hub, but, although that will benefit greatly some groups of private tenants such as young people, it will not reach them all. At all times, we must keep the hard-to-reach groups at the forefront of our minds.
Other issues that the strategy addresses include the regulation of letting agents and giving consideration to housing standards; after all, the private rented sector is almost at the bottom of the league when it comes to energy efficiency. It also invites consideration of the suitability of a new tenancy system, which I know that Shelter has argued for. That might go a long way towards turning flats and other properties that some might regard as assets truly into homes.
17:23
In the same item of business
The Deputy Presiding Officer (Elaine Smith)
Lab
The final item of business is a members’ business debate on motion S4M-06681, in the name of Patrick Harvie, on protecting tenants’ deposits. The debate will...
Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green)
Green
I put on record my thanks to the 27 MSPs who have added their names in support of the motion, representing four political parties and independents who repres...
Alex Johnstone (North East Scotland) (Con)
Con
I welcome the opportunity to contribute to such an important debate, and I congratulate Patrick Harvie on securing it and bringing the issue to the chamber.T...
Patrick Harvie
Green
Will Alex Johnstone give way?
Alex Johnstone
Con
I am actually over my time and should be stopping. However, I am sure that the opportunity will come along.Effective enforcement can do a great deal more tha...
The Deputy Presiding Officer
Lab
Mr Johnstone has advised me that he has to leave the debate early because he has parliamentary business to attend to.17:15
Anne McTaggart (Glasgow) (Lab)
Lab
I am delighted to contribute to this debate on the subject of protecting tenants’ deposits. I thank Patrick Harvie for recognising the growing importance of ...
Marco Biagi (Edinburgh Central) (SNP)
SNP
I welcome the chance to debate the matter because, in my constituency, 41 per cent of households now live in the private rented sector. I do not know what th...
Elaine Murray (Dumfriesshire) (Lab)
Lab
I, too, congratulate Patrick Harvie on securing the debate, as the failure of many landlords to comply with the regulations by the required date last month i...
Malcolm Chisholm (Edinburgh Northern and Leith) (Lab)
Lab
I congratulate Patrick Harvie on lodging an important motion on protection of tenants’ deposits. It has become an increasingly important issue over the past ...
Kezia Dugdale (Lothian) (Lab)
Lab
I congratulate Patrick Harvie on bringing the issue to the chamber. My first job out of university was as a welfare adviser at Edinburgh University Students ...
The Minister for Housing and Welfare (Margaret Burgess)
SNP
I, too, thank Patrick Harvie for bringing the issue to the chamber for debate. It is clearly important to all of us. I have listened carefully to what has be...
Patrick Harvie
Green
Would the minister consider ensuring that no landlord has any legal justification for withholding a deposit that has not been lodged with an approved scheme?
Margaret Burgess
SNP
Landlords must lodge deposits with an approved scheme—that is why the schemes were set up and those are the rules of the schemes. If a landlord does not do t...
Marco Biagi
SNP
We are all interested in the enforcement working. What conversations has the Government had with local authorities on the difficulties and challenges that th...
Margaret Burgess
SNP
We have set up a working group. The strategy makes it clear that we will work with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, given that local authorities...