The landlord petition, which was launched on May 1st by the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) and the Council of Letting Agents (CLA), is calling on the Scottish Government and its MSPs to recognise the importance of the PRS in Scotland.
While the Scottish Government says it is “working to encourage a thriving private rented sector, which provides good quality and well managed accommodation, and in which both landlords and tenants understand their rights and responsibilities”, it is planning to introduce a raft of new legislation which landlord bodies deem to be hugely anti-landlord.
The SLA has submitted the petition to the Scottish Government in response to its consultation on a “New Tenancy for the Private Rented Sector”, which closed on the 10th of May.
Scottish Housing News has reported the petition argues that the proposals, which include the introduction of rent controls and the removal of a landlord’s right to terminate a tenancy at the end of an agreed lease term, would discourage urgently needed new landlord investment necessary to meet the rising demand in the sector and thereby keep rent levels down.
John Blackwood, chief executive of the Scottish Association of Landlords, has said:
“Investment in the private rented sector will play a major part in tackling the systemic housing shortage in Scotland, along with the need to increase the availability of social housing and the construction of more privately owned homes.
“However, if the Scottish Government follows through on proposals to bring in rent controls and remove a landlord’s right to terminate a tenancy at the end of the agreed lease period, SAL is in no doubt that the required investment to deliver more homes for private rent will dry up.”
“Whilst we agree that some changes to the current regime are necessary, we would urge the Scottish Government to consider the wider implications of what is being proposed.”
The Proposals:
Reform of the Private Rented Sector Tenancy System
Consultation:
A New Tenancy for the Private Rented Sector
