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A New Deal for Tenants: Rents Down, Rights Up!

  • Scotland’s tenants need homes we can afford, so that we’re not priced out of our communities.
  • We need security of tenure, not just a place we can stay for a while.
  • We need homes that are warm, so that heating them doesn’t cost the earth.
  • We need access to justice and better enforcement, so that we can defend ourselves when landlords treat us unfairly. 

The Scottish Government has promised to introduce rent controls and greater rights for tenants in this Parliament.
Between December 2021 and April 2022, the Scottish Government consulted on proposed changes to the law.

As Scotland's tenants union, we demanded:

  • AFFORDABLE HOMES: a point-based system of rent controls to bring down housing costs and improve housing quality and a greater supply of social housing

  • QUALITY HOMES: greater and clearer penalties for landlords who refuse to make repairs, as well as clearer incentives for improvements such as energy efficiency

  • SECURE HOMES: greater protections for tenants, including banning winter evictions, making all grounds discretionary and introducing meaningful penalties for breaches of the law

  • HOMES THAT ARE OURS: the right to make it ours by not facing undue restrictions on what we can do, such as having pets or redecorating

  • STRONGER VOICES FOR TENANTS: control over our homes, which means making rent consultation results binding, and ensuring we don’t face repercussions for exercising our rights

Get in touch if you want to get involved locally and push for change. 

6,152 endorsements
5,000 endorsements

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3379

  • Mante Marcine
    endorsed 2022-04-13 15:47:39 +0100
    Rent and landlord/agency controls. Better rentals value and quality.
  • Lauren Rosie
    endorsed 2022-04-13 15:42:46 +0100
  • Joanna Ramasawmy
    endorsed 2022-04-13 15:37:44 +0100
    Bringing down housing costs and giving tenants greater security to plan their lives in their homes
  • Mhairi Ann Campbell
    endorsed 2022-04-13 14:50:38 +0100
  • Bethany Wolff
    endorsed 2022-04-13 14:45:32 +0100
  • Yasmin Luqman
    endorsed 2022-04-13 14:37:10 +0100
    Rent controls, ban on Airbnbs, ban on bad landlords, better standards for council and temporary accommodation, and warm and insulated homes for all.
  • Artemis Sole
    endorsed 2022-04-13 14:23:38 +0100
    A block on rent increases and a move to decrease rent!

    Homes that are modernised to fulfill sustainability goals such as insulation, glazing, and household heating sources.
  • Liam Casey
    endorsed 2022-04-13 14:23:03 +0100
  • Stephen Campbell
    endorsed 2022-04-13 14:22:53 +0100
    A rent freeze and then rent controls.
  • Léna Lagrue
    endorsed 2022-04-13 14:04:08 +0100
    Affordable monthly rent and affordable energy
  • Joanna Rodgers
    endorsed via 2022-04-13 14:03:00 +0100
  • Paulius Jonusas
    endorsed 2022-04-13 13:58:42 +0100
  • James Taggart
    endorsed 2022-04-13 13:17:29 +0100
    Affordable homes that are warm, maintained and safe. I’m between homes at the moment, the standard of a few flats I’ve been lucky enough to view has been so low that I’d consider it uninhabitable.
    Private landlords and their agency minions require strict controls to guarantee better living conditions and freedom from harassment, surprise visits and threats of eviction.
  • Paul-Vincent Raymond
    endorsed 2022-04-13 13:05:46 +0100
  • Marina Maciver
    endorsed 2022-04-13 12:58:08 +0100
    Fairness
  • Rebecca Love
    endorsed 2022-04-13 12:54:12 +0100
    Rent that is affordable on minimum wage and for students.

    It’s unfair that monthly mortgage payments are often a lot cheaper than monthly rent as you need quite a bit of money to get a mortgage and if you can’t afford the deposit for a mortgage you need to rent which is annoyingly often a lot more expensive each month.

    End to ridiculously priced student accommodation, why is £600-£800 for just a room in a shared flat! Sometimes sharing with up to 7 other people. The whole point of being uncomfortable and sharing with lots of people is to make it cheaper. These companies are just profiting off of desperate students who need a room in Stirling which seems to have a housing crisis and lack of accommodation.
  • Kirsty Ryan
    endorsed 2022-04-13 12:53:54 +0100
  • Liene Rozite
    endorsed 2022-04-13 12:50:42 +0100
  • Gary McLellan
    endorsed 2022-04-13 12:20:58 +0100
    Stopping private rents skyrocketing and holding landlords to account for providing the bare minimum of a safe living environment
  • Emmajay Sutherland
    endorsed 2022-04-13 12:01:58 +0100
    Ensuring landlords and Estate agents fix issues within a property promptly having the tenants best interests at heart and not the landlord’s wallet.
  • Fraser Shields
    endorsed 2022-04-13 11:57:55 +0100
    Safe housing
  • Graham McGarrity
    endorsed 2022-04-13 11:56:29 +0100
    Affordable and well maintained properties
  • Craig Innes
    endorsed 2022-04-13 11:45:08 +0100
  • Jakub Skipala
    endorsed 2022-04-13 11:43:13 +0100
  • Melanie Weldon
    endorsed 2022-04-13 11:29:14 +0100
  • Zoe Crosher
    endorsed 2022-04-13 10:26:19 +0100
    Tenants need more rights, better housing and a sense of security for their future.

    No one should have to choose between heating and eating.

    No one should be struggling to pay rent.

    Rent controls are needed and have been needed for a long time.
  • Frederic Roger
    endorsed via 2022-04-13 10:08:54 +0100
    Affordable (and quality) homes
  • Megan Ditchburn
    endorsed 2022-04-13 09:56:58 +0100
  • Meg Carroll
    endorsed 2022-04-13 09:03:44 +0100
  • Andrew Mckeen
    endorsed via 2022-04-13 08:44:49 +0100