Scottish government warned over ‘catastrophic’ national rent controls plan

Estate agents have warned the Scottish government that its plans to introduce rent controls nationally will be catastrophic.

Due to go live nationally next year if plans progress successfully, rent controls via ‘Rent Pressure Zones’ have been possible in law but, after a cool reception, none have yet to become reality.

The new proposal, which is a product of the new political alliance between the SNP and Scottish Greens following May’s Holyrood elections, is expected, says the Greens’ co-leader Patrick Harvie, ‘could be based on affordability, in terms of average incomes’.

“It could be based on a proportion of market value, with an element to cover landlords’ costs like insurance and maintenance,” he has said, adding that a practical implementation plan had yet to be thrashed out.

Key part

Rent controls are a key part of his party’s ‘New Deal’ for tenants along with improving PRS standards along with a winter evictions ban, making all grounds for evictions discretionary rather than mandatory, and greater rights to have pets.

Propertymark’s Scottish representative Daryl McIntosh (pictured) says: “At a time when demand for privately rented homes is massively outstripping supply, several of the Greens’ proposals risk deterring private landlords from the market.

“The Private Rented Sector provides a vital service in the housing system and recently this contribution feels forgotten -surely an ill thought through policy objective.”

Leading Scots agent David Alexander says he would support limiting rent rises in popular city-centre postcodes to one or two percent a year to match inflation but says more draconian ‘rent caps’ would be impossible to implement.

Read more: Rent controls will leave tenants worse off, landlords warn London Mayor.