Today, we delivered an open letter calling for Glasgow City Council to invest in housing, infrastructure and public services using money from their proposed tourist tax.   Read our letter in full below:   Dear Susan Aitken,    We, the undersigned, support the introduction of a visitor levy in Glasgow and call on Glasgow City Council to ensure that the revenues the tax could generate benefit the residents and workers of our city.  Latest figures show that visitors spent £2.35 billion in Glasgow in 2023, almost 50% more than in 2022. At the same time, 36,000 people are on social housing waiting lists and 7,266 people are in temporary accommodation, including 2,765 children.  We believe that there are four key areas where the money generated by the visitor levy should go.  First, on housing. Glasgow council recently declared a housing emergency - we believe that you should be using any new source of revenue to help tackle the housing crisis in our city, not to reinvest the money generated from the tax back into tourism. Second, on public services. In the past decade and particularly since the pandemic, community centres, sports facilities and libraries across Glasgow have been closed permanently or indefinitely. New revenue should be used to support our crumbling public services. Thirdly, on waste management. Years of cuts to waste collection services has led to Glasgow being labelled one of the filthiest cities in the world. Both workers and residents are deeply affected by this waste crisis resulting in massive rat infestation as rats are jumping out of bins or even appearing in toilet pans.  And lastly, on infrastructure, specifically, addressing the pothole crisis. Glasgow gained a reputation as the ‘pothole capital’ of Britain with potholes claims rocketing in the last few years. This revenue could be a helpful opportunity to inject new money into crucial road infrastructure. Tourists are welcome in our city, but businesses like Airbnb do not need an injection of public funds - they are already raking in massive profits.  We are demanding: The tourist tax to be set at 8.5% The council to use the funds raised to Invest in our public services & infrastructure Build more social housing   This open letter has been set up by Living Rent Glasgow, Tenants’ and Community Union and signed by the following:   Bryan Simpson, Lead Organiser, Unite Hospitality Chris Mitchell, GMB Gordon Martin, Regional Organiser, RMT Tom Queen, Branch Organiser, Unite University of Glasgow Branch Sophie Watson, Branch Chair, UNISON University of Glasgow and Glasgow School of Art Tom Napper, Kinning Park Community Council David MacIver, Community Manager West, Shelter Scotland Selina Hales, Refuweegee Tressa Burke, Chief Executive Officer, Glasgow Disability Alliance Maria Carvalho, Climate & Health Campaign & Programme Lead, Medact Pinar Aksu, Maryhill Integration Network

Today, we delivered an open letter calling for Dundee City Council to commit to implementing rent controls when the Housing Bill comes into law.   Read our letter in full below:   Dear Councillors,   We, the undersigned, are writing to urge you to prioritise the needs of renters in your constituencies and commit to introducing rent controls after the Housing Bill has passed through Parliament.  Dundee has the fastest increasing rents in Scotland. Over the past decade, housing costs in Dundee have increased much faster than wages, making rent unaffordable for many. Rent for a one bed flat in Dundee rose 10% in the last year alone, after rising 16.9% the previous year. Since 2010 rent has increased by 75.2%, over 25% above inflation. Unaffordable rents are a major driver of poverty, especially as rents are increasing much faster than wages. With the government abolishing the last of the emergency protections for tenants, this is only going to get worse as tenants are hit by a wave of unaffordable rent increases. Housing costs are the largest financial outgoing in most households and 12.5% of Dundee renters are spending over half of their pay on rent. Nearly a third of children in Dundee live in poverty. Worryingly, housing costs disproportionately impact those from minority ethnic groups, women and LGBTQ+ people, making high rents a driving factor of inequality in our city. The price of rent has also had a massive effect on homelessness in Dundee. Between 2023 and 2024, there were 1,106 applications assessed as homeless or threatened with homelessness, with 456 households, including 262 children, in temporary accommodation. One of the common causes of homelessness is the inability to meet rent. We know that rising homelessness puts local authorities under a huge amount of pressure: rent controls would help ease this pressure and allow more people to stay in their homes. By committing to rent controls, this council will show what a progressive response to the housing crisis looks like and ensure that tenants are able to remain in the neighbourhoods and communities they call home. Without a commitment to rent controls, we fear that landlords will continue to put up rents, and Dundee will soon become as expensive as Edinburgh and Glasgow have been allowed to become. Edinburgh City Council has already backed rent controls - you have a responsibility to your constituents to do the same.  We, the community - tenants, workers, community groups and leaders - believe the people of Dundee should be able to afford homes. We therefore ask that you listen to the voice of Dundee residents and pass a motion in support of rent controls. We look forward to your response.   Yours sincerely,   Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland Mike Arnott, Secretary, Dundee Trade Union Council Bob MacGregor, Regional Officer, Unite the Union Rory Steel, GMB Scotland Jim McFarlane, Dundee City UNISON Tánaiste Custance, President Elect, Dundee University Students’ Association David Simpson, Unite retired members branch Colin Clement, Stobswell Forum Dr Cian McMahon, Lecturer in Economics & Management Gail Stirling, West End Community Council Iain Daniels, Energy and Benefits Advisor, Citizens Advice Bureau Kate Maher, Elaine Maher, and Sam Cook, ScrapAntics Laura Stevenson, Cake or Dice Community Cafe Sheena Wellington, City Centre and Harbour Community Council Thomas Coutts, Tesco and Dundee United Community Trust Yvette Hoskins, Dundee RAAC Campaign Group Dundee International Women’s Centre Dundee Pensioners’ Forum Fans Supporting Foodbanks Dundee Speak Oot Living Rent Dundee

Today, we delivered an open letter calling for Highland Council to implement a visitor levy that sees funds go towards the housing crisis. Read our letter in full below: Continue reading

Paul and Sesilia tell their story of fighting their rent hike!    Continue reading