Landlords raise tenancy concerns at Scottish Parliament committee

Organisations representing private landlords and investors yesterday appeared before the Scottish Parliament to continue to urge the Infrastructure and Capital Investment committee to work with the private rented sector to create the policies that will protect both tenants and landlords as well as urging reconsideration of parts of the Private Housing (Tenancies) Bill.

Speaking at the Committee, representatives from PRS 4 Scotland, Scottish Land & Estates, Scottish Association of Landlords among others raised concerns that the Private Housing (Tenancies) (Scotland) Bill in its current form sets a number of very significant alarm bells ringing in the private rented sector that need to be addressed.

Building their case around four key issues, the PRS sector organisations highlighted:

Speaking after the meeting, John Boyle for PRS 4 Scotland said: “Recent rental trends demonstrate that Scotland has a severe lack of housing supply, not that rents are out of control. When demand is high and supply limited, rents go up. With the Private Housing (Tenancies) Scotland Bill we are now faced with a direction of travel which could dis-incentivise investment and a series of unintended consequences that will weaken the sector for many years to come.”

Also raised at the meeting were concerns about how proposed changes to tenancy agreements as proposed in the bill would have negative consequences for the student housing market in Scotland.

LetScotland Chairman Malcolm Warrack said: “The Scottish Government’s proposals in the Bill to effectively end tenancies of between 6-12 months is particularly worrying, especially for students, who often either wish to rent a property during the academic year or for a full 12 months - the result is that tenants now look likely to be locked into longer term tenancies that they may not want.”

“Many Landlords, like tenants, value the flexibility of shorter tenancy agreements; the changes proposed by the Scottish Government are another leap into the dark that could have devastating consequences for the private rented sector in Scotland. In addition, there will be a knock-on negative effect on short stay lets, leading to adverse consequences for tenants looking for accommodation during key periods like Edinburgh’s summer festival season and during major sporting events.”

“It is clear that the intention of the Bill was not to hammer students and Edinburgh’s festivals as well as investors in student accommodation, but that is what is likely to happen. and I hope the committee evidence will convince MSPs to consider the consequences of these proposed changes.”

Further concerns were raised about the tenancy agreement by Katy Dickson, Policy Officer for Scottish Land & Estates:

“Scottish Land & Estates are supportive of the principles of introducing a new tenancy but continue to have concerns that the grounds for repossession are not robust enough to reassure landlords.”