Meeting of the Parliament 03 December 2014
I am pleased to be able to take part in this afternoon’s debate. I will highlight just one of the housing issues that my constituents face.
I was contacted some months ago by a constituent who works as a porter in the national health service. He was forced to take a private rented flat after his long-term relationship broke up. As a result, he finds that his NHS wage meets only his rent and household bills. His situation is so bad that he has to go to his parents every night for his evening meal. This man is in his 40s and has worked his entire adult life, and he cannot afford his rent. That is nothing short of scandalous, and it is one of the many reasons why I am supporting Shelter’s make renting right campaign.
I am particularly pleased to support Shelter’s call for more flexibility with regards to the tenancy agreement. Shelter states:
“The private rented sector is changing. Current demand suggests that while some people want the option of a tenancy that lasts for as long as they need it, others want flexibility if they need to move. We want a tenancy regime that can respond to people’s needs and work for both landlords and tenants. For tenants, it is about striking the balance between being able to live as long as they need in a property, with due consideration given to the landlord in terms of adequate notice when they want to leave.”
I believe that that is a practical measure, which will benefit not only tenants but landlords, too. By offering an agreement that benefits both parties, greater trust and commitment will be established, and as a result there will be greater belief in the system—something that is missing from the current tenancy agreement.
We need to take action on the spiralling costs of private rents. It is simply not good enough that hardworking people have no other choice than to get themselves into huge amounts of debt to keep a roof over their heads. Given that 13 per cent of housing stock is in the private rented sector and that one in four private rented households have children, we need to address the massive problem in the sector quickly. It must be a priority for the Government and for this Parliament.
Only a few weeks ago, I asked the minister a very straightforward question in this chamber. I asked her whether she supported Shelter’s campaign. It was a question that needed a simple yes or no answer, but I got neither in return. I hope that she will be definite in her answer today, will once and for all pledge her support for the campaign and will confirm what action she will take given that—in her own words—the Government has known about this problem since 2010.
To hear that the number of people who are living in poverty in the private rented sector has doubled in the past decade should make all politicians extremely uncomfortable. That is why we need action now and that is why I ask the minister to support Shelter Scotland’s campaign and to back Scottish Labour’s proposals to introduce a bill on the private rented sector. We want a bill to provide people with greater security of tenure and we wish to see a cap on rent rises. That would make a huge difference to tenants’ lives, and it could be legislated on quickly. I hope that the minister will back our proposals.
On a separate note, I was delighted that the Smith commission suggested that our Parliament should receive the power to legislate on socioeconomic areas. I hope that that will mean establishing an equality impact assessment. I called for that in my submission to the Smith commission. Such a power would allow the Government to truly assess whether its policies are making the difference it would like to see by reducing poverty in our communities. An equality impact assessment would be particularly useful in assessing how effective the Scottish Government’s policy on housing and housing stock has been in reducing inequality in Scotland.
I hope that the minister is listening to the requests being made of her today and that she can find a way of addressing the concerns of members, charities, campaigners and—most importantly—tenants, who need action now, not more warm words.
15:51