Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee 20 May 2025
Yes, absolutely, the EPC system is out of date and the review is urgently needed. We anticipate that the system will change, which is why we have not referred to EPC in my amendments. The amendments should cover the new energy efficiency rating system, for which I hope that we will not wait too long. As you have said, EPC does not take into account the full range of technological advances that we have had in the past few years.
We have a situation where twice the proportion of properties fail on three or more criteria of the Scottish housing quality standard in the private sector compared to social housing. My amendment 257 and its partner amendments in an earlier group, which we have previously debated, would act as a very powerful incentive to drive up quality, along with Ariane Burgess’s amendments to allow tenants to withhold rent when repairs have not been done and for local authorities to inspect accommodation and levy fines on landlords who are not looking after their properties and, therefore, their tenants. We can put significant upwards pressure on standards.
This is a complex area and there are a great many amendments in the group. Bearing both those points in mind, I have left open the matter of how exactly we do those things—I have not been specific, as it would be for ministers to decide how the minimum standards would be defined. I encourage members to vote for almost all the amendments in the group, which all try to do basically the same thing. Emma Roddick’s amendment for landlords to financially compensate tenants when minimum standards have been contravened is helpful, as is Daniel Johnson’s amendment for poor-quality properties to be bought out by local authorities.
I am glad that the Scottish Government is introducing Awaab’s law to ensure that repair issues are addressed, and I support the Conservative amendments that would apply it to the private sector. With respect to the cabinet secretary, there is no need to wait to consult the private sector as the Government has said that it intends to do. In its essentials, a mechanism for a property to be inspected and for repairs to be ordered must surely be the same, regardless of the sector. Some of the amendments might overlap and conflict slightly, but that can be resolved. Speaking of incentives, that would be a strong one for us to work together across the board before stage 3 to develop a plan to ensure that standards in the private sector are the best that they can be—not with their current 40 per cent failure rate.
The only amendment that the Greens cannot support in this group is Daniel Johnson’s amendment 490. It is a well-intentioned attempt to improve access to the common areas of a tenement or similar building, in order for utilities and other works to be done, but I cannot support the amendment as drafted, as it would put a burden on tenants to stay at home—perhaps missing work or having to take annual leave—to do what is essentially the landlord’s job. However, I encourage Daniel Johnson to bring that amendment back at stage 3, with some minor tweaks to it, to address those concerns.
I move amendment 257.