Rent freeze bill a ‘watershed moment’ for Scotland’s private rented sector

Press Release

The long-term consequences of the emergency rent freeze and eviction moratorium on the private rented sector could be felt for decades to come, a rural business organisation has warned today.

Scottish Land & Estates, which represents some of Scotland’s largest rural housing providers, said the new legislation – to be introduced, debated and passed in just three days – will compound the systemic problems already facing the sector.

Stephen Young, Head of Policy at Scottish Land & Estates, said: “For many involved in the private rented sector, this is a watershed moment that will damage the provision of housing for years to come.

“The government has yesterday afternoon published a far-reaching bill on the private rented sector that it plans to rush through by Thursday with minimal scrutiny. 

“It has reached a stage where it is no longer about landlords’ rights or tenants’ rights – it is about further ill-advised reforms from government that will shatter the ability of the rented sector to function properly and will ultimately dent the supply of housing.

“We recognise the effect inflation is having on every part of society and the difficulties it has created, particularly for vulnerable groups. However, the Scottish Government’s provision of social and local authority housing has been falling substantially over recent decades and rather than fix the systemic issues that exists, it instead chooses to pursue populist policies against landlords.

“While this may increase the rights of current tenants in the short term, the decline in numbers of rental properties available will ultimately have a detrimental impact on future tenants and social mobility in Scotland as it becomes ever harder to find suitable accommodation.”

A rent freeze had already been proposed during the passage of the recent Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Act 2022, which made all evictions discretionary and subject to a first-tier tribunal.

At that stage, the Scottish Government chose not to pursue a rent freeze, stating there was ‘substantial and complex issues’ with such a policy – but despite this, it now intends such a law being passed within three days.

Stephen added: “We will scrutinise the bill closely but the reality of the situation is that the SNP-Green coalition will be able to vote it through, come what may – and the negative consequences may be felt for years to come.

“Even if it is passed in parliament, we will be asking our legal advisors to look at it and provide their view on whether it is compliant with other legislation. The Scottish Government has already said this is a complex issue and ramming it through parliament in three days is likely to create more problems than it solves.”