Rural voice vital as Scottish Government plans changes to rented sector and heating standards
Press ReleaseThe needs of rural Scotland must be placed front and centre by the Scottish Government as it seeks change to Scotland’s private rented sector and building heating standards.
Scottish Land & Estates, the rural business organisation, reacted following the Programme for Government statement by the First Minister at Holyrood today.
As well as pledges on housing, the Scottish Government said it would bring forward a Natural Environment Bill to support the delivery of net zero and biodiversity goals as well as a Crofting Bill.
Sarah-Jane Laing, chief executive of Scottish Land & Estates, said:
“Rented housing is vital to many of our rural economies, particularly when it comes to attracting workers to an area for tourism, farming, forestry and other seasonal sectors. If the Scottish Government fails to take this into account then it places these communities at real risk.
“We saw the debacle caused by measures to ban wood-burning stoves in new properties because the Scottish Government had not properly ‘rural proofed’ their policymaking and with the government also announcing a Heat in Buildings Bill, we hope the views of rural communities, organisations and businesses are properly taken into account this time.
“Many landlords and tenants argued that rent controls would be hugely counterproductive when introduced in the form of a rent freeze in 2022, and this was borne out across large parts of Scotland as rental stock supply diminished. Between the start of 2022 and the end of 2023, across 18 local authorities with rural areas, 11 saw decreases in the number of properties available for rental.
“With the Scottish Government now seeking to move forward with rent caps, it needs to fully understand the further detrimental consequences this could have on rural rental provision before bringing forward the stage 2 amendments.”
More detail on the Programme for Government is available on the Scottish Government website.