RENT REVOLUTION
Consultation will set out blueprint for how we’ll live in the future
PEOPLE in Scotland are being asked to give their verdict on Scottish Government plans to “improve the lives of tenants”.
The proposals – which include a system of rent controls for private rentals and minimum standards for energy efficiency – were put out to public consultation yesterday.
Patrick Harvie, the government’s minister for tenants’ rights, said: “Now is the time to do more for people who rent their homes.”
The co-leader of the Scottish Greens added: “Delivering a new deal for tenants is central to our ambitions for a fairer Scotland, tackling child poverty and meeting climate change targets.
“Above all else, it will significantly improve the lives of tenants – giving them more stability, more choice over where they live, how they decorate their homes, and confidence that their home will be of a high quality.
“At the same time, it will recognise the interests of good-quality, responsible landlords.”
As part of the consultation, which closes on April 15 next year, the SNP-Green Government has proposed increasing penalties for illegal evictions and stronger enforcement, restricting evictions during winter, giving tenants greater flexibility to personalise their homes and keep pets and introducing a new housing standard. In the 108-page
“New Deal for Tenants”, there are proposals for a private rented sector regulator, which it said would help uphold standards and ensure the system is fair for both landlords and tenants.
The measures form part of the Scottish Government’s Housing to 2040 strategy.
It said the results of the consultation will help shape the final version of the document – due to be published next year – and elements of the proposals put to the Scottish Parliament in a Housing
Bill in 2023. Shelter Scotland director Alison Watson said it was an “ambitious strategy” which offered the chance to “mend many aspects of a housing system failing thousands”.
She added: “We have long called for tenants’ rights and protections – in both the social and private sectors – to be strengthened to make sure no one can be denied their right to a home. Too many renters aren’t aware of their rights or don’t feel confident in enforcing them. That needs to change.”
John Blackwood, CEO of the Scottish Association of Landlords, said: “We must hope this process will acknowledge the crucial role of landlords in providing safe, quality homes and encourage them to remain in the sector, helping to prevent the shortages which have seen individuals, students and families alike unable to find a suitable home.”