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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

Will you endorse Living Rent's response?


3379

  • Seona Macdonald
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:32:48 +0000
  • Garrin Thomas
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:32:18 +0000
  • Jennifer Longstaff
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:32:16 +0000
    1. Affordable rents, especially in cities where 1 & 2 beds are over £1200 a month;

    2. Guarantors allowed for everybody – not just students, to help single parent families get homes (been refused many properties when asked for a guarantor of my tenancy);

    3. That any repairs must be carried out within 30 working days by letting agencies or private landlords (I am still awaiting repairs from when I moved into my rental flat 8 years ago);

    4. Rent increases only every 5 years for long term tenants, no more than £25 increase and only if there are no outstanding repairs needed on general wear/tear.

    5. Tougher regulation on landlords – eg. property let out next to me is in one partners name, while they live in social housing under the other partners name
  • Megan Stewart
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:31:28 +0000
  • Leo Blair
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:31:03 +0000
  • Malachy Harris
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:30:59 +0000
  • John Mclaren
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:30:45 +0000
  • Konstantina Tatiana Michalopoulou
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:28:33 +0000
  • Rachel Barnet
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:28:20 +0000
  • Gul Saeed Khattak
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:28:15 +0000
  • Ed Swain
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:27:56 +0000
  • Aditi Jehangir
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:27:54 +0000
    Rent controls!
  • ann burt
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:27:49 +0000
  • Silas Curtis
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:27:25 +0000
  • Marjie Thornton
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:27:14 +0000
    Fair rents, controlled rents and registered landlords that ensure their properties are habitable.
  • Charlie Knox
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:26:52 +0000
  • John Driggers-McDowall
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:25:24 +0000
  • Phyllis North
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:25:12 +0000
    Controlled, affordable rents.
  • Seonaid Rogers
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:25:05 +0000
    Rent control
  • Jim Lister
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:24:55 +0000
    A hand up for young people trying to make their way
  • Lina Biel
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:24:23 +0000
    Rent controls
  • Emre Er
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:24:10 +0000
  • Cheryl Ritchie
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:24:09 +0000
  • Robert Hollingworth
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:23:43 +0000
    Affordable/Quality Homes
  • John Ritchie
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:23:06 +0000
    Landlords buying second, third, fourth (etc) homes to Let need to be held accountable for the responsibilities that ensues.
  • Millie Cook
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:22:50 +0000
  • Amanda Downie
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:22:28 +0000
  • Christy Robertson
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:20:53 +0000
  • Craig Innes
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:20:46 +0000
  • Rory MacPherson
    endorsed 2022-03-07 13:20:00 +0000