Despite a high-profile 3% cap on increases imposed by the Scottish government earlier this year, rents in Scotland have risen by more than in England. Many young Scots, like Catherine Sheldon, are struggling with the cost of living and thought they would be protected from a large rent rise. However, a “loophole” in the Scottish government’s rent cap rules allows private landlords to seek a 35% rise because one of her flatmates gave notice to move out, ending the tenancy agreement.
Over the past decade, rents in Scotland’s largest cities have almost doubled, according to exclusive data commissioned by BBC Scotland News. The Rightmove research reveals that between September 2013 and September 2023, the average rent for a two-bedroom flat in Edinburgh climbed by 92% to £1,441, while in Glasgow it increased by 82% to £978. Despite the emergency legislation capping rent rises at 3%, private rents across Scotland have increased by 6% in the past year, according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures.
Economist and co-director of think tank Future Economy Scotland, Laurie Macfarlane, described the rent cap as a “sticking plaster” amid a housing crisis in Scotland that private renters are at the very sharp end of. He told the BBC that rent rises were outstripping the growth in incomes and people were spending more of their income than ever before on keeping a roof over their heads. Many tenants have been hit with significant rent hikes when one of their flatmates needed to move out, exposing the “joint tenancy loophole” in the rent cap.
Landlords too are being hit by cost of living pressures, with mortgage rates rising rapidly along with the cost of complying with regulations. John Blackwood, Chief Executive of the Scottish Association of Landlords, said he was “not surprised” that some tenants were feeling exploited. Mr Blackwood said one solution would be “looking at greater predictability of rents and rent increases in the future” in a way that protects the landlord’s business. Due to a shortage of alternative affordable housing, private landlords had been asked to provide housing to many more people than they ever expected to and that it had become the “only resort for many renters
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