By Bill Heaney
The SNP’s failure to plan for the end of rent control has led to rents rising faster in Scotland than most other parts of the UK, figures obtained by Scottish Labour have indicated.
These figures show that on average rents contested by tenants in Scotland jumped by 20 per cent following the end of the temporary legislation, with one landlord attempting to raise rents by 186 percent.
Temporary rent control legislation came to an end without the SNP government putting in place a viable alternative allowing rents to increase in a manageable way, according to Labour, who maintain that this has led to steep hikes in rent as landlords pass on the costs of soaring inflation to hard pressed tenants.
This remarkable data was gathered as part of applications to Rent Service Scotland for adjudication and shared with Scottish Labour in response to a Freedom of Information request.
The same FOIs revealed that a 399 percent increase in applications following the end of the rent control cap – suggesting that the rent controls have merely delayed rather than preventing soaring rents in Scotland.
Recent data from the Zoopla Rental Market Report found that across Scotland rent increased by nearly 10 percent over the last 12 months, higher than anywhere else except North East England, with Edinburgh seeing the second highest rent rises of any city except Newcastle.
The average rent in Edinburgh is now £1,268 per calendar month.
Mark Griffin, PICTURED ABOVE, Scottish Labour’s spokesperson for Housing, said: “Sadly these figures show that rather than fixing the roof with the rent freeze, the SNP just put out a bucket to catch the drips.
“Delaying a problem is not the same as solving it – the SNP’s inability to come up with a viable alternative to rent controls in time have left tenants dealing with a cliff edge of rent increases when emergency legislation ended.
“Rather than prioritising the housing bill so MSPs could work together on a sustainable plan, the SNP has slashed the affordable housing budget and let house building crumble on its watch.
“Because there is nowhere else for them to go, working families, young people and those on the lowest incomes stuck in the private rental sector are forced to find the money for soaring housing costs.
“This SNP government must prioritise ending the housing emergency by developing joined-up policy so that everyone has a place to call home.”
Rent control legislation information
Under the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act 2022, a rent cap was set in most instances from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024 limiting landlords to increase rent by 3 percent
From 31 March 2024, the SNP Government has allowed private landlords to increase rent by up to 12% “in exceptional circumstances”.
Tenants have the right to appeal proposed rises with the Government’s Rent Officer and then to the First Tier Housing Tribunal. After 1 April 2024, any tenant faced with a rent increase has had the right to dispute it with Rent Service Scotland or the First-tier Tribunal
Source: https://www.gov.scot/news/continuing-rent-protection-for-private-tenants/
Rent adjudications
- There have been 903 applications to the rent service received since the end of the Cost of Living (tenant protection)(Scotland) Act 2022. (from 1 April to 23 July 2024)
- There has been a 399% increase in applications following the end of the Cost of Living (tenant protection)(Scotland) Act 2022 as compared to before the Act came into force. There were 181 applications received from 1 December 2017 until the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection)(Scotland) Act 2022 came into force in October 2022 which suspended the rent adjudication process. Applications received each year were: 2 in 2018; 19 in 2019; 20 in 2020; 44 in 2021 and 96 in 2022.
- The average percentage rent rise which has been reported to the Rent Service Scotland for adjudication since 1 April 2024 to present day (23 July 2024) is 20%.
- The highest percentage rent rise which has reported to the Rent Service Scotland for adjudication since 1 April 2024 is a 186%.
The figures obtained only give a picture of rents which have been appealed. In some cases, rent officers may have sided with tenants and concluded that the rent increase was too high. It is impossible to say how many tenants have accepted illegal rent raises without appealing them.
Source: Scottish Labour FOIs
The most recent data from Zoopla shows that Scotland’s rent increased by on average 9.3% in the previous 12 months – higher than anywhere else but the north east – and Edinburgh saw the second highest rents after Newcastle.
Source: Rental Market Report: June 2024 – Zoopla