Landlord laws

In his column (‘Legislation risks making a fool out of landlords!’, Business, 6 March) David Alexander does the private rented sector landlord constituency no favours in his reference to legislation passed by the Scottish Government as equivalent to an “April Fool”.

What the legislation is, in fact, is part of an range of initiatives introduced by the government designed to improve standards in this sector.

At a time when the sector, having more than doubled in size in recent years, accommodates nearly 700,000 citizens, it is only right that the government is obliged to take more than a passing interest in ensuring a stable, consistent and fair environment for all.

I do not dispute the rights of individuals to choose how they dispose of freely earned or inherited possessions, but such individuals who choose to become landlords should do so in the knowledge that the sector now places regulatory and professional obligations upon them that are some way removed from the laissez-faire environment of the past which gave rise to the unsavoury headlines involving appalling living conditions and “rogue” landlords with which we are all too familiar.

Over 80 per cent of today’s private rented sector is made up of individuals who own three or less properties and it may be that these are the people David has in mind when he anticipates a possible counter argument that “tenants cannot be bandied about like a portfolio of shares” and “people who want an investment free of the human dimension should stick to the stock market”.

I would go further and refer to this as sound advice; anyone who has any pretensions of being a landlord – even an amateur one – who has no appreciation of the human dimension should indeed stick to the stock market. MIKE BRUCE chief executive, Weslo Housing Management, North Bridge Street, Bathgate