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The Herald Scotland
30-05-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Scot Gov slammed for 'shameful' drop of winter eviction ban
The aim of the amendment was to prevent people from being made homeless during the harshest, coldest months of the year where weather conditions can often be life-threatening. However, during considerations of amendments on the bill, MSPs decided not to include this clause. Reacting to the vote, Maggie Chapman has said this risks making more people homeless. The Scottish Greens MSP said: 'It is shameful that the Scottish Government has voted against a winter evictions ban. While we may be approaching summer with the coldest months ahead far from our minds, for people at risk of homelessness, the threat of a winter without a roof over their heads is real and fast approaching. 'Every winter, too many people and families are kicked out of their homes, sometimes for unwarranted reasons by landlords who don't take their obligations seriously. 'We live in an era of sky-rocketing rents, high utility bills and low wages that don't keep pace. The cost of living crisis is still very much with us. Renters need protections just as much as they did when inflation was at its height. 'But instead of giving renters more rights, the Scottish Government has made it clear that it is on the side of landlords. It has favoured the wealthy over working people, which will only serve to deepen inequality and put more people at risk of homelessness. 'I will bring these important protections back at Stage 3 of the Bill, giving the Government and opposition parties the chance to protect people and their families facing crisis, and help to ease the ongoing housing emergency in Scotland.' Living Rent said the decision was one which showed the Scottish Government is siding with landlords "at the expense of tenants". Aditi Jehangir, from Living Rent said: "All evictions are stressful and scary. And during winter, when tenants struggle to heat their homes, when it's cold outside, and the festive season is ramping up, evictions are particularly cruel. In the middle of a housing emergency, evictions are a sure promise of growing homelessness. "To vote against greater protections for tenants during the harshest months of the year is a vote against protecting the most vulnerable. It's a vote that protects landlords. The Scottish government is siding with them at the expense of tenants. This is just part of a wider move to strip the Housing Bill of any meaningful and significant protections for tenants during a devastating housing crisis. It does not bode well ahead of a Holyrood election where housing will play a deciding role and where clear and effective changes are crucial." Ministers have said the consultation on the Housing bill indicated there were other times which present major financial and emotional pressure - not just the winter months. They added that measures included in the housing bill mean that a court or tribunal will consider if there should be a delay to an eviction and seasonal impact could be taken into consideration. A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'Scotland provides renters with some of the strongest protections from eviction anywhere in the UK. 'We explored greater restrictions on evictions during the winter period as part of our new deal for tenants. Consultation indicated that there are other times of the year which present major financial and emotional pressures for people. 'The measures in the Housing Bill ensure that the tribunal or court will consider whether there should be a delay to the enforcement of an eviction at any time of year, although seasonal impact is a specific factor to be taken into account. This approach will give greater protection for tenants throughout the year.' The Housing Bill is currently at Stage 2 after it was introduced by the Scottish Government last year. It covers protections for tenants, preventing homelessness, and other housing matters. Earlier this month, the Scottish Parliament's Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee voted to force the Scottish Government to include student tenancies in its planned rent control legislation. Cross-party MSPs backed amendments to the Housing (Scotland) Bill that would extend rent control powers to include student accommodation – both purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) and university-owned halls. The bill also includes rights such as for private and social housing tenants to request to keep a pet and for private housing tenants to make changes to the property they are renting. It also includes changes to other matters affecting tenants such as allowing a single joint tenant to end a joint tenancy.
The Herald Scotland
10-05-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
£80m of student housing halted over rent caps ‘nervousness'
There are now wider concerns raised over the potential impact on investment in the sector. However, Living Rent, the tenants' union, said the move is critical and set against a backdrop of an increase in student homelessness. Existing student accommodation in Edinburgh. (Image: Getty Images) It comes after the build-to-rent market was looking ahead to possible exemptions from rent controls, initially brought in to help in the cost-of-living crisis and now being factored into future frameworks. Housing chiefs said student accommodation was an area of investment that had been open when build-to-rent was said to be less attractive. David Melhuish, of the Scottish Property Federation, with a membership including owners, developers, funders, agents and advisers, said the move this week by MSPs to support changes to the Housing (Scotland) Bill with the student housing provision was bringing investment uncertainty. He said: 'The purpose-built student accommodation sector is based on a fundamentally different market. Unlike the wider private rental sector market the PBSA is highly cyclical, with students in tenure for less than a year and there is significant churn as universities themselves require accommodation to be made available for a new tranche of first year students and postgraduates, often away from home for the first time. 'In short this is not an open market and that is why rent controls, as a blunt instrument simply cannot be applied to the sector if Scotland wishes to continue to see major investment delivered to support the vitality of the higher education sector.' READ MORE: He said the new wording 'is simply too wide to provide any assurance to either the PBSA or, we suggest, the university accommodation sector, that they will not be subject to rent control measures which will stymy investment'. He added: 'This is not an idle concern – even just since Tuesday's vote to extend the anticipated rent control regime we have seen over £80 million of PBSA investment either paused or subject to reconsideration, risking over 500 new student beds. 'There is a high degree of nervousness, unfortunately, about investment in Scottish real estate and we must do everything we can to provide certainty to investors, and to universities and their students about the long-term prospects for the student accommodation sector.' READ MORE: Aditi Jehangir, chair of Living Rent, said that 'students are in dire need of housing protections', adding: 'Across Scotland, students are paying extortionate rents for rooms in low quality developments that are lucrative to developers but completely unaffordable for the people living in them. 'As a result, student homelessness has skyrocketed, many students struggle to pay for food, and many are forced to fit studying around multiple jobs to keep a roof over their heads. 'Purpose built student housing is unaffordable and keeps students in poverty, preventing students from low income backgrounds from accessing university. 'This government needs to commit to introducing rent controls for students in PBSA. If this government is serious about ending the housing crisis and protecting our country's most vulnerable it needs to ensure that strong, effective rent controls are applied to all tenancies.'
