Housing crisis issues still must be tackled following court decision

Press Release

Urgent action should be taken by the Scottish Government to address fundamental problems in the housing sector, despite a ruling a court ruling today on rent freezes and eviction bans. 

Landlords expressed ‘disappointment and frustration’ following Lord Harrower’s judgment in the Court of Session which ruled against a judicial review of legislation that introduced the rent and eviction measures. 

The coalition of organisations which raised the legal action said that tenants and landlords still faced uncertainty and a crisis of confidence. 

However, the Scottish Association of Landlords and Scottish Land & Estates said they are proud of standing up for members across Scotland. They believe the Scottish Government must listen more and take more effective action which increases investment and properly addresses Scotland’s housing crisis, especially during the progress of the forthcoming Housing Bill.

In particular, they have called for the Scottish Government to work collaboratively on long-term measures that will encourage investment in the social, private rented and owner-occupied markets. 

The Judicial Review was brought by a coalition of the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL), the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA) Scottish Land and Estates (SLE) and Property Mark.

Although the Court found the proposed rent freeze and eviction ban were justified in law, the groups involved have said they will continue to work together and seek additional support from other parts of the housing sector to ensure proper action is taken to address Scotland’s housing crisis. 

John Blackwood, Chief Executive of the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL), said:  

“We are proud that we stood up for our members, landlords across Scotland who provide high quality accommodation to their tenants and who want to invest in their properties to provide safe, affordable homes. 

“We have achieved one of our key goals which is to put the SNP and Greens on notice that their planned Housing Bill must focus on tackling Scotland’s housing crisis by encouraging investment in all housing types across the country and not on unfair and disproportionate measures driven by ideology or politics. That is what tenants, landlords, homeowners, buyers and investors deserve.  

“We will be watching, along with colleagues in social housing, build to buy, build to rent and others. If the Scottish Government continues down their current path of meaningless tick-box consultations and ill-considered measures, we will build as broad a coalition as possible to make sure Scotland gets the investment in our housing sector that is so desperately required.”  

Sarah-Jane Laing Chief Executive of SLE said: ’We are understandably disappointed but, given the negative impact of the legislation on private landlords and the supply of rural homes, we felt that legal challenge was our only option. This action was raised in a fast-moving situation amid genuine and widely-held concerns that the Scottish Government was not striking the right balance between the interests of tenants and landlords.

“This ruling does not diminish the critical role of the private rented sector in addressing Scotland’s housing crisis. 

“Our members are committed to providing homes across rural Scotland and to continuing to invest in existing properties and build new ones. Our plea to the Scottish Government is to work with us and provide a balance between landlord and tenants interests. We also urge them to take a more evidence-based approach to their policies and laws, the damaging impact of their approach is clear to see."