Meeting of the Parliament 03 December 2014
I say to the member that, when the strategy group met and consulted together, what he raises was not recognised as an issue. It was not part of our Housing (Scotland) Bill when it was introduced, it did not come up in the consultation and it was not raised by the Labour Party. We committed to consulting on a new tenancy for the private rented sector. That is the right way to proceed and that is what we are doing. We are consulting on that and we want to ensure that that provides safeguards for landlords, lenders and investors, as well as security of tenure for tenants.
I am pleased that Shelter welcomes our ambition for changes in the sector. I confirm to Shelter and to other stakeholders that the Government remains committed to passing, in this parliamentary session, the legislation that is necessary to establish a new tenancy regime for the private rented sector. We will say more about that in the spring next year, once we have considered the consultation responses.
The Scottish Government is supporting Homes for Scotland in its work to drive forward initiatives to build more homes for rent by attracting new sources of investment. As part of that commitment, we have funded the appointment of a private rented sector champion to lead on that.
In the context of the debate, increasing supply is particularly relevant. Where rents are high, the long-term answer is more supply, in every tenure, to meet growing demand. I recognise that rents are high in some hotspots across the country. Where that is the case, it reflects conditions in local housing markets. However, statistics published by the Scottish Government last month showed wide variations in average rents. For example, average monthly rents for two-bedroom properties range from less than £450 a month in Dumfries and Galloway to almost twice that in Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire.
Likewise, increases in rents vary. Our statistics show that, between 2010 and 2014, most average rents increased at below the rate of inflation and some rents fell. In particular, 16 of the 18 rental market areas across Scotland have seen below-inflation changes in average rents for two-bedroom properties—the most common size of property in the private rented sector.