Meeting of the Parliament (Hybrid) 21 December 2021
I thank the Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights for lodging the motion. It signals the beginning of a long-overdue transformation of Scotland’s private rented sector. For too long, tenants have been second-class citizens, living in houses that they cannot make their homes.
Housing is a fundamental human right. I know that members from across the chamber will agree that everyone deserves to live in a secure, affordable, good-quality home, and the draft new deal for tenants will deliver on that right. I am proud to support the motion on behalf of the Scottish Green Party. Reforming the private rented sector is hard graft. That is why Green ministers in Government and with the grit and determination to tackle difficult problems are vital to the long-term wellbeing of tenants.
During the pandemic, we have spent more time than ever indoors, and our surroundings and our sense of belonging are essential to good mental health. Seemingly simple things such as allowing tenants to decorate their homes or keep pets can uplift their mood and alleviate loneliness. However, poor conditions have been far too common in the private rented sector, and we have seen rents skyrocket even during the pandemic.
Last winter, evictions were banned. That should be the case every winter, not only during a pandemic. Firm action will be taken against landlords who evict illegally, whatever the time of year. Greens in Government will deliver protections and controls to ensure that tenants are not subject to unfair treatment, with much-needed rent controls and action against unfair evictions. Tenants across the country who do not have the time, money or energy to fight their corner will have a greater say in the private rented sector through new tenant participation panels and options to establish tenant unions. They will be supported to do that by new powers to allocate long-term unclaimed deposits to fund rights and representation work. Landlords, in turn, will benefit from having tenants who are invested in the properties that they live in and who are connected to the communities around them.
Scotland is a founding member of the group of wellbeing economy Governments, and the new deal for tenants is exactly the sort of innovative approach that will put the wellbeing of the people of Scotland at the heart of the Scottish Government’s housing policy. The changes will be felt not only in urban areas; rural and island communities will see action taken on residential mobile homes and on agricultural and tied tenancies. Rent controls in those areas will also tackle the rural depopulation crisis by making housing more affordable and preventing young people from being priced out of the communities that they grew up in.
I hope that the new rent guarantor scheme for estranged young people will help some of the most vulnerable young people to live authentically and to break free of abuse. The review of grounds for ending private tenancies and action to make it easier to exit a joint tenancy will ensure that tenancies are fit for purpose and that they can adapt more easily to changes in life circumstances. This deal for tenants may be new to us, but it simply brings us into line with many other European countries where tenants have long had protection through measures such as rent control.
In August, as part of the shared policy programme, the Greens said that we would introduce a new deal for tenants. Four months later, Green MSPs and ministers are delivering on Green promises. The Scottish Greens will stand with tenants and tenant unions to revolutionise the private rented housing sector. The review will deliver for people, not profit, it will view houses as homes and it will place wellbeing at the heart of our housing policy.
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