Today (Monday 2 September) we sent an open letter alongside Scotland’s trade union leaders, urging First Minister John Swinney, Housing Minister Paul McLennan, and Cabinet Secretary Shirley Ann Sommerville to reaffirm their commitment to introducing rent controls

Read it below: 

Dear First Minister John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary Shirley Ann Sommerville and Minister Paul McLennan,

We, the undersigned, are writing  to you to emphasise the urgent necessity of introducing effective rent controls in Scotland.

Forty years on, we are still reeling from Thatcher’s privatisation of council homes and the ending of rent controls. Eight local authorities have declared local housing emergencies, with rising homelessness, spiralling rents, overall disrepair of our housing stock and increasing numbers of people without a stable tenure, or in overcrowded homes. The Scottish Government has declared a national housing emergency , as a result of the systemic pressures facing Scotland’s tenants.

Homelessness is rising month on month with local authorities failing to meet their statutory duties to people seeking homeless assistance. One of the driving factors of homelessness is the inability to meet rent. This is leading to evictions across the country and local authorities buckling financially under the strain.

Rents have doubled in the last ten years for most private tenants while wages have stagnated. This has dramatic impacts on the most vulnerable, with  nearly ten thousand children in temporary accommodation as of September 2023. We know that rent increases disproportionately affect women, young people, people of colour, single parents, disabled people and migrants. We also know that unaffordable rents are a major driver of poverty. Housing costs are the largest financial outgoing in most households, and while low pay is the main cause of escalating poverty rates, our market-driven housing system is the main driver of both poverty and wealth. Scotland’s lowest paid workers are forced to pay a significant proportion of their incomes on rent, with those on the minimum wage paying 50% or more of their take home pay, often on poor quality, badly insulated housing.

More and more of our members are struggling to make ends meet -  this must end and you have the power to act. If your government is serious about ending the housing emergency and child poverty, robust and meaningful rent controls must be part of the solution. International evidence shows that well designed rent controls have the potential to decrease inequality, to support private tenants’ security of tenure, and to improve the quality of housing stock overall. 

Right now, the Scottish Government has a chance  to show what a progressive response to the housing crisis could and should look like. It can demonstrate how effective rent controls and greater protections for tenants can create a  fairer Scotland for everyone.

We ask you to show the leadership that Scotland needs and deliver the  innovative, bold, and effective policies already outlined in the housing bill as published. We look forward to your response,

Kind regards,

Aditi Jehangir, Chair, Living Rent

Roz Foyer, General Secretary, Scottish Trades Union Congress,

Lilian Macer, Regional Secretary UNISON Scotland,

Derek Thomson, Unite Scottish Secretary,

Gordon Martin, RMT Scotland Regional Organiser,

Louise Gilmour, Secretary, GMB Scotland,

Mick Whelan, ASLEF General Secretary,

Jeanette Findlay, President UCU Scotland,

John Jamieson on behalf of PCS Scottish Sector Committee

Sai Viswanathan, President NUS Scotland