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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

  • Cameron Fletcher
    endorsed 2022-03-07 15:05:19 +0000
    Housing for all, quality for all.
  • Ross Brechin
    endorsed 2022-03-07 15:04:59 +0000
  • Linda Briggs
    endorsed 2022-03-07 15:04:25 +0000
    Fair rents and well maintained properties
  • Paddy Hare
    endorsed 2022-03-07 15:03:34 +0000
  • Jamie Pick
    endorsed 2022-03-07 15:01:10 +0000
    Government-enforced rent controls to keep landlords in check
  • Maureen Stewart
    endorsed 2022-03-07 15:00:17 +0000
  • Marc McKay
    endorsed 2022-03-07 15:00:02 +0000
  • Nathan Breakenridge
    endorsed 2022-03-07 14:59:49 +0000
    More affordable homes and better rights for tenants.
  • Ruby Whitworth
    endorsed 2022-03-07 14:58:29 +0000
    Affordable homes for Students because if we need to work a huge amount of time just to pay for a roof over our heads how can we focus on our studies which we are meant to be there to do in the first place. If we do badly in uni because we were working then we can’t get better job leaving us stuck at the bottom
  • Freya Craig
    endorsed 2022-03-07 14:55:21 +0000
    Affordable; secure; paying rent work towards credit score/mortgage affordability;
  • Scott Logan
    endorsed 2022-03-07 14:53:18 +0000
  • Eloise Furst
    endorsed 2022-03-07 14:51:31 +0000
    Affordable homes.
  • Eloise Furst
    endorsed 2022-03-07 14:51:31 +0000
    Affordable homes.
  • Fabrizio Scalet
    endorsed 2022-03-07 14:50:41 +0000
  • June Davison
    endorsed 2022-03-07 14:50:38 +0000
    Affordable rents and safe healthy homes
  • Tom Scott
    endorsed 2022-03-07 14:50:21 +0000
    Affordable rents

    Abolish Airbnb’s

    No one able to own more than one household
  • Jeremy Pilia
    endorsed 2022-03-07 14:48:18 +0000
    Passing a new law, no one should own more than one property. There will be no housing market, no more letting agents, no more renting, no more expensive housing, it will be the end of 30 years long extortionate mortgages and expensive rent, it will allow cheap affordable housing for all. Of course, no private companies should own any housing or properties. Only local councils should be able to offer housing for rent that meet basic needs, insulated, secure tenancy, efficient heating etc.
  • Paul Rickards
    endorsed 2022-03-07 14:44:06 +0000
  • Gary Hughes
    endorsed 2022-03-07 14:43:55 +0000
    Keep rents reasonable; protect peoples right to stay.
  • Colin Milmine
    endorsed 2022-03-07 14:43:39 +0000
  • John Singer
    endorsed 2022-03-07 14:42:38 +0000
  • Benjamin Wortelboer
    endorsed 2022-03-07 14:42:37 +0000
    Fewer short term holiday lets / airbnbs would be great. Most importantly, proper consequences for letting agencies / landlords who fail their tenants – renting a well maintained flat shouldn’t take superhuman efforts, if the agency is made aware of mold or a broken oven for instance it should be fixed. It shouldn’t be up to the renters to have to constantly chase it up, etc. (thankfully I’ve not experienced stuff like this but plenty have!)
  • Gordon Hastie
    endorsed 2022-03-07 14:41:58 +0000
  • Oliver Kelly
    endorsed 2022-03-07 14:41:40 +0000
  • Duncan Young
    endorsed 2022-03-07 14:40:45 +0000
  • Callum Prentice
    endorsed 2022-03-07 14:40:25 +0000
  • Cloudberry MacLean
    endorsed 2022-03-07 14:39:22 +0000
    Affordable, public sector housing with secure tenancies in good condition free from pollution and damp.
  • Elspeth Wills
    endorsed 2022-03-07 14:38:16 +0000
    End to short term holiday lets in city entre. Homes are for living in not for investment.
  • Sally Stimson
    endorsed 2022-03-07 14:37:00 +0000
    Secure homes
  • Nadira Jamil
    endorsed 2022-03-07 14:36:52 +0000
    An affordable rent especially for single occupants like me!