In a startling revelation, the Green Party activists, who championed the implementation of rent controls in Scotland, are now under fire for their role in exacerbating the rental crisis. Landlords, stung by the aftermath of the policies, decry the loss of 22,000 privately rented properties in the past 12 months, according to a survey conducted by the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL).
The SAL survey, executed in December, sheds light on the alarming trend, attributing the substantial decline to a hostile stance from the Scottish Government and mounting concerns over proposed regulations in the sector. Respondents, SAL members, have already withdrawn an average of 6.4% of their properties, indicating a potential loss of 21,760 homes from the sector over the past year.
This sharp decline, as per SAL, emerges as the principal driver behind the escalating rent levels in Scotland’s private rental sector, further aggravating the prevailing housing crisis. Shockingly, 56% of surveyed landlords plan to shrink their property portfolios, while a mere 9% consider expanding, indicating a widespread unease within the sector.
However, the Green Party activists dismiss these concerns, highlighting a purported contradiction with the official landlord register. Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer refutes the landlords’ claims, asserting, “It’s a sign of real desperation in the landlord lobby that they are reduced to claims that are at odds with the evidence.”
Contrary to the landlords’ assertions, Greer contends that the official landlord register indicates a 1.7% increase in the number of registered rented properties in Scotland in recent years. He contends that the landlords’ panic is unwarranted, emphasizing the historical growth of the rented homes from 120,000 pre-devolution to over 340,000 today.
In response to the landlords’ concerns, Greer urges a comprehensive examination of the situation, advocating for sensible and balanced regulations that foster a healthy market for both tenants and responsible landlords. He contends, “Across Europe, sensible balanced regulations work alongside healthy markets: better for tenants and better for responsible landlords. It would be so much better if landlords in Scotland got this too.”
The landlords association, on the other hand, rebuts Greer’s claims, asserting that the register fails to capture the recent surge in property sell-offs, signalling a deeper issue that demands urgent attention.