Rising rents add to cost of living crisis

The average rent price for a twobedroom home has risen above inflationary levels in seven areas in Scotland, new figures show.

In the year up to the end of September, statistics from the Scottish Government have shown that average rents have risen in 17 out of the 18 regions of Scotland, with the highest rise in South Lanarkshire (10.3%).

Compared to the average inflation rate of 7.6% in the

UK over the past year, six other areas saw aboveinflation increases – Dundee and Angus (8%), Forth Valley (8.7%), North Lanarkshire (8.3%), West Dunbartonshire (8.3%), East Dunbartonshire (8.2%) and Greater Glasgow (7.7%).

In total, Scotland’s average rent rose by 6.7% across the country.

The figures display the private rented landscape before the Scottish Government’s emergency legislation enacted to tackle the cost of living crisis and its impact on the rental sector.

The Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) Bill froze rents and placed a moratorium on evictions until at least the end of March, with the option to extend the legislation for two further six-month periods.

Lothian saw the highest average rents in the country at £1,006 per month, followed by Greater Glasgow at £858.

Dumfries and Galloway’s

average rent for a twobedroom home was the lowest in the country at £480 followed by the Ayrshire regions at £493.

The figures also gauged the changes in rents since 2010, with Glasgow rents rising cumulatively by 52.3% and Lothian’s by 51.5% – above the cumulative inflation rate of 33.7%.

Fife, Forth Valley and East Dunbartonshire also showed an above-inflation increase during that time.

Meanwhile, rents in the Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire areas (3.1%) and the Ayrshires (6.1%) saw the lowest average increase in the past 12 years.

Tenants Rights Minister Patrick Harvie said the

figures were “yet more evidence” of the need to bring rent down in Scotland.

“That is why we took urgent action to introduce emergency legislation to protect renters,” he said.

“We have also allocated almost £3 billion in this financial year that will help mitigate the increased cost of living.”

RENT STRIKE: Cash-strapped households are being hit by increases in rent payments.