Deal to introduce rent controls “ill thought out”...

The deal to introduce rent controls in Scotland - the result of a deal between two parties in the Scottish Parliament - has been branded “ill thought out” by Propertymark.

The Scottish National Party and the Scottish Greens’ new power-sharing partnership at Holyrood includes two Green MSPs will be appointed as junior ministers in Nicola Sturgeon's government.

With the Greens getting a louder voice, Propertymark has raised alarm at aspects of the Greens’ manifesto and what changes they may push, especially in Scotland’s private rented sector.

Nicola Sturgeon has described the agreement between the SNP and the Scottish Greens as "ground-breaking” but professionals warn it could be catastrophic for the rental sector.

The Greens’ 2021 manifesto states: “We will legislate to transform the private rented sector, providing greater security for tenants, regulating rents, and improving standards.”

Listed as a ‘New deal for tenants,’ the party also states it wants to “Introduce a points-based system of rent controls” and “Ban winter evictions and end unfair evictions by making all grounds for eviction discretionary.”

Scottish politicians have already made the decision to extend their temporary Covid-19 measures, seeing all grounds for possession be discretionary, until March 2022 with the provision to be extended until September 2022.

Now Propertymark has issued a statement saying that while it stood behind regulation of the sector to drive out rogue agents and landlords, the Greens’ stance on rent controls cannot be supported.

The organisation’s spokesman Daryl McIntosh comments: “At a time when demand for privately rented homes is massively outstripping supply, several of the Greens’ proposals risk deterring private landlords from the market.

“The Private Rented Sector provides a vital service in the housing system and recently this contribution feels forgotten - surely an ill thought through policy objective.”