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The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Landlords must lose the fight over Scotland's rent controls
Last year, the government declared a national housing emergency, recognising record levels of homelessness, the toll high rents are taking on tenants, social housing waiting lists of nearly a quarter of a million across Scotland, and disrepair rampant across our housing stock. Yet as Professor Duncan Maclennan points out, the 'housing emergency' is a misnomer. Read More: This so-called emergency did not happen overnight; it has been created by design through the privatisation of our housing stock and unregulated growth of the private rented sector. Scotland's tenants have faced the hard end of these economic decisions for decades, and bold structural solutions are urgently needed in response. Tenants don't have time to wait. Rent controls, as outlined in the Housing Bill, are an important first step towards ending decades of housing misery. Robust, universal rent controls which have the ability to bring rents down could begin to transform our housing system by making private rented accommodation more affordable and disincentivizing exploitative landlordism overall. It's important to state that forms of rent control seen in recent temporary measures have included too many loopholes for landlords to exploit. Any exemptions to upcoming rent controls would create a multi-tier system, leaving thousands of tenants open to unregulated rents and undermining future policy efforts. The current consultation on rent controls has laid bare the Government's intention to appease landlords by introducing significant exemptions to rent controls. Ruth Gilbert, national campaign chair of Living Rent (Image: Newsquest) At this last hurdle rent controls are under threat. Since the government first committed to rent controls, the landlord and developer lobbies have eroded support for proper regulation of the private rented sector among politicians. The constant barrage of criticism - combined with empty threats of a mass exodus of landlords - have pushed a pliant government into conceding to appease the market at the expense of tenants. The most egregious exemption proposals concern 'build to rent' developments. The government has proposed a suite of amendments designed to encourage these sorts of developments, but this dangerous trend towards large-scale private developments is not something they should sensibly support. Build to rent properties are expensive, and beyond the reach of most tenants. Anyone who has walked through either Glasgow or Edinburgh recently will have seen these buildings springing up alongside billboards that promise convenient locations, fun perks, and luxury accommodation. Worryingly, this is just the start of the build to rent boom, over 3,800 units have been built, and there are 12,767 still in the pipeline. This explosion of the sector should highlight that it does not need any further government incentives. Indeed, across the UK the industry received over £1bn in investment from North America in the last quarter of 2024 alone. Developers' push for exemptions only highlights the business model they are touting. The bill, as introduced, already allows for above inflation rent increases, and so lobbyists' greedy demands for more exposes a model that is more concerned with creating dividends for overseas investors than delivering on the needs of Scotland's people. The government is deeply misguided if it thinks that expensive, luxury accommodation is going to fix our housing emergency. These are development sites which can and should be used for much-needed and genuinely affordable housing for social rent. Also proposed for exemption are mid-market properties. Mid-market tenants are some of the most vulnerable in our housing system. Apparently designated for tenants with low to middle incomes, mid-market properties exist to ensure that those unable to afford rents in the private sector and who cannot access social housing are able to better afford their housing costs. By threatening to exclude mid-market tenants from rent controls, this will see mid-market landlords able to increase rent however high they like with tenants left with no recourse to challenge it. For example, this summer at Water Row mid-market development in Govan, tenants were hit with a 10.6% rent increase after being given a rent increase of 39% before they had even moved in. The rent increase was delivered despite a previous commitment to keep rent below the local housing allowance. However, tenants had no legal recourse to challenge. It was only through Living Rent members organising together and fighting back did the landlord eventually concede and cancel the rent increase. This government needs to stop listening to the empty threats of landlords and legislate to protect those who have been most impacted by decades of mismanaged housing policy. Scotland's tenants need universal and comprehensive rent controls that bring rents down. Anything short of this will ruin the housing bill, undermine the possibility of a more just housing system for years to come, and damage the wavering trust that Scotland's tenants have that politicians will take the urgent action needed to end the national housing emergency. Ruth Gilbert is the national campaign chair of Living Rent
The Herald Scotland
08-07-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Scotland's largest trade unions back calls for rent controls
However, a consultation is currently taking place to consider certain exemptions from rent controls or increases above the rent cap. Tenants group Living Rent has written an open letter to the Scottish Government, supported by the Scottish Trades Union Congress, Unite Scotland, GMB, RMT Scotland, UCU Scotland, and PCS urging it to resist any calls for exemptions. Read More: Addressed to First Minister John Swinney, cabinet secretary Màiri McAllan and cabinet secretary Shirley Anne Somerville it reads: "We, the undersigned, represent a coalition of trade unions, charities, and community groups who stand in solidarity with Scotland's tenants. "We write to you with a clear and urgent message: the situation for renters in Scotland has reached a crisis point. Scotland is in the middle of a housing emergency, as recognised by the Government, with working-class people bearing the brunt. At the same time, Scotland's landlords and their lobbyists are working hard to water down rent controls and make them functionally useless. We need to see bold, urgent action from your Government Scotland, rents are through the roof and the situation is worsening by the day. "With each rent rise tenants' quality of life decreases and your Government moves further away from its target of eradicating child poverty. The Scottish Government made a promise to introduce long-term rent controls to tackle this problem, but it is now buckling under the immense lobbying power of landlords and property investors. "A new consultation is underway which could lead to large numbers of properties being exempted from rent controls. Not only would these exemptions be disastrous for tenants living in these tenures, but they would create a two-tier system which could undermine rent controls overall. "Scotland's tenants deserve better than to be left at the mercy of a housing market driven by greed and inequality. We urge you to act now, ensure there are no exemptions to rent controls and fulfil your promise to introduce robust rent controls before the end of this Parliament." The letter is signed by Aditi Jehangir, chair, Living Rent; Roz Foyer, general secretary, STUC; Gordon Martin, Scotland organiser RMT Scotland; Liz McGachey & John Jamieson, co-convenors of the Scottish Executive Committee, PCS Scotland; Unite Scotland; GMB Scotland, and University and College Union (UCU) Scotland. It can be read in full here. Over 2024, new rents across Scotland increased by 6.2% to an average of £893 per month, up £52 per month compared with the previous year. Data from the Scottish Government published in November revealed that between 2010 and 2024, rents across Scotland have increased on average by 61.3% for two bedroom properties. Living Rent's national campaigns officer, Ruth Gilbert said: 'Introducing exemptions to rent controls will be a disaster for tenants. Exemptions will not only leave thousands of tenants without protections, but they will create a two tier system of tenants whilst undermining rent controls for everyone. "Landlords have been getting away with hiking up rent for too long. Current regulation is simply not strong enough, with landlords exploiting every loophole to increase rent. Exemptions will give landlords even more of a licence to line their pockets whilst tenants suffer. "If done properly, rent controls will be completely transformational for Scottish tenants. The new housing minister has an opportunity to show what she stands for by introducing strong, effective rent controls that bring rents down,increase quality and ensure that everyone in Scotland has a safe, secure, affordable place to call home.'
The Herald Scotland
07-07-2025
- The Herald Scotland
How a shot in Paisley in 1856 was heard around the world
The manufacturing bosses were known as the 'corks' and were notorious for exploiting the labour and the workmanship of the Paisley weavers in an industry that made them fortunes. Their predations forced the weavers to form some of the earliest known trade unions in the UK, more than a century before they were granted legal protection by the state. Read more: And so, on the first Saturday of July, Paisley holds its Sma' Shot Day to commemorate one of the most important developments in the history of trade unionism and workers right. Having initially reproached myself for not knowing very much about this tale and absolutely nothing of Sma' Shot Day I headed to Paisley on Saturday. This is the sort of event I really should be covering, right? And not merely in a professional capacity. As a committed trade unionist, hailing from a family of trade unionists whose activism stretches back before the war, I really should be here every year. It's not as though it's hard to miss. The programme of events for the day lasts from morning until night, a mini-festival of events that – for once – really does mean 'for all the family'. And at its centre, a parade through Paisley town centre that rises in Brodie Park to the south before finishing on the green across from Paisley's grand cathedral. This is where the ceremonial burning of a 12-ft Cork mannequin representing the victory of the workers over the cheats and scammers which raw capitalism produces in every generation. I was expecting a parade a mile long to be winding through Paisley's superb civic buildings and Scotland's most eye-catching town centre with that gorgeous cathedral and the old mill edifices and the White Cart winding through. And you reproach yourself once more for not visiting this place more often, and especially now as it seems to be undergoing a wee renaissance. Nothing you can hang your hat on quite yet: just a presentiment of something bold and optimistic happening in these streets and wynds and in the cafes and restaurants that weren't here when you last visited. Sma Shot Day (Image: Robert Perry) But here's the thing: someone had devoted a lot of work into making this parade look vibrant so that it proceeded with a swagger and a shimmy. There were schoolkids in costumes; giant mannequins and stilt-walkers and dancers. There were some of the assorted activist groups that you'd expect to see at a parade like this: Living Rent, CND and, of course, the Socialist Workers Party here represented by their Renfrewshire branch, and God love them for it, because they're always here, always represented. And your heart was warmed too by a banner belonging to the Calton Weavers, who'll have their big day on August 31 in Glasgow's East End, not far away from the church where I was baptised. There are several other community groups such as the Renfrewshire Carers Centre; the University of the Third Age and the Waspi Women. Where were all the others, who belong to Scotland's anointed trade elites? Where were the SNP and The Greens and the Lib-Dems? This isn't just another workers' rights event; this day represents one of the most important moments in the history of working-class activism. The Labour Party had a stall down on the piazza beside the cathedral, along with 20 or so other little tented pavilions, but they too should have been all over it. Read More: Davie Fulton, a retired construction worker who worked on repairs to the cathedral, sees me taking notes and introduces himself. 'I remember when this parade was more than three times as big as this,' he said. 'It would take ages to come through the town centre and all of the unions and local groups were present.' Not today though. Another trade union activist expresses disappointment that her own trade union isn't represented. 'They're keen that we get along to various Pride events and Palestine demos – and that's fine – but this is what real trade union activism is all about: jobs, wages, security, maternity rights, the real living wage, fair distribution of wealth and dignity at work.' Sma' Shot Day was a local workers holiday until war broke out in 1939 and then was slowly consigned to history: a remnant of a simpler time and maybe something else rooted in the new opportunities for homes and education and better pay in the era of post-war expansion when it might have seemed that many of the old battles for social justice and fairness at work had been won. In 1986 though, it was revived at a time when Thatcherism was beginning to lay waste to the UK's traditional industries and destroying the communities they supported. Sma' Shot Day and the victory it represented need to be remembered again. As we gather for the Burning of the Cork on Cotton Street, outside the council buildings I meet sisters Liz and Jane who are here with Jane's grandson, Daniel and his drum. 'He's been waiting all year for this event,' says Jane, a former council worker. Jane once worked for the old Anchor Mill and for the next 20 minutes they provide me with an eloquent and detailed folk history of their town. Sma Shot Day (Image: Robert Perry) 'This is a great day,' says Jane, 'and it's never been more important to remember the weavers' struggle against the corks. There are no social and affordable houses being built and young people especially are once again prey to low wages which make it impossible to get on the housing ladder." In the 'Sma Shot Cottages, just a few hundred yards from the Cathedral precinct, the original weaving looms are still intact and in good working order. This is where a mid-19th century mill foreman lived, complete with kitchen/living area, bedroom, children's room and parlour. Here I find Dr Dan Coughlin is explaining the set-up on the loom. He's weaving a herringbone cloth. The warp threads run the length of the fabric, the weft threads run across its width. The loom is set up with warp threads going through eyelets, it has four treaders which he operates with his feet in different combinations. His feet move the treaders and the warp threads separate to create a shed, the space through which he shoots the shuttle which carries the weft thread left to right. He moves the treaders with his feet again to create a new shed and sends the shuttle back the way through the new shed, right to left, to weave he fabric. He lays to rest some myths about the Sma' Shot but paints a vivid picture of the weavers' skills and gets to the core of their dispute with the bosses. It was all about fairness. 'The Paisley shawl had three different types of yarn,' he explains. 'The pattern yarn, the ground yarn and the small shot. This had nothing to do with the weavers having to pay for it themselves, it was an unfair system of payment. In the Paisley shawl we can have so many colours per line. If you have three colours in one line, then you have to put in a sma' shot behind them and then you start the next line; put in three colours; put the sma' shot behind them. 'In Paisley you didn't get paid for the sma' shot, you got paid for the pattern shot. The unfairness of the system was that if one weaver here, on this loom, got a shawl with only one colour in it, every second shot wasn't being paid for. The weaver over there has four colours in his shawl - every fifth one of his is not getting paid for, a weaver with eight colours, every ninth shot is not being paid for, so it's an unfair system of payment. If I'm asked to do a pattern with only one colour, I realise I'm not going to get paid for half my work, so it was an unfair system of payment. That was the problem.' Dr Coughlin is describing both an art and a science. The craft and workmanship – as it does in all industries – is what built Scotland's wealth. Three centuries later, the workers are still creating Scotland's wealth and still being cut out of it.
The National
03-06-2025
- Business
- The National
Scottish MPs panned over up to £3500-a-month taxpayer-funded homes
Tenants union Living Rent have branded it 'shocking'. According to Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority data, Scottish Labour MP for Glasgow East John Grady is spending the most on rent at £3500 a month. His fellow Scottish Labour colleague, Dunfermline and Dollar MP Graeme Downie, is paying (and expensing) a hefty £3350 a month. READ MORE: Border checks on fruit and vegetable imports from EU scrapped Meanwhile, Scottish Labour MP for Bathgate and Linlithgow Kirsteen Sullivan is paying £3250 a month. Rounding out the top five are Scotland Office minister Kirsty McNeill and SNP MP Kirsty Blackman on £3200 a month. (Image: Image of John Grady by Colin Mearns, Newsquest)MPs are allowed to expense the costs of a second property to either have a base in their constituency or somewhere to stay when they travel to parliament, if their seat is outside of London. They can also claim up to £230 a night for hotel stays. But Aditi Jehangir, the chair of Living Rent, hit out at the amounts some are claiming. The average rent in London for a one-bedroom flat is £1500 according to the City of London, although that can vary depending on which borough. Although, even for the most prestigious areas in London, including Westminster, the average still sits around £2500 a month. Properties you can rent in London for £3500 a month include a 'stylish Manhattan-inspired apartment' near Waterloo station. According to the listing, it offers a "luxurious lifestyle with hotel-like amenities", including a 20-metre swimming pool, private screening room, executive lounge, golf simulator, wine cellar and thermal suite facilities. It could also secure a 'very spacious' four bedroom apartment in a mansion block close to the O2. "It's shocking to see Scottish MPs spending so much of taxpayers' money on renting second homes for themselves, while refusing to support rent controls for their constituents,' Jehangir told The National. (Image: AFP/Getty Images) 'Rents across the UK are skyrocketing to extreme, unaffordable levels, plunging tenants into poverty and pushing us out of our homes.' She added: 'Rather than fighting for a system that works for everyone, they are happy to claim back thousands of pounds in expenses and fob tenants off with distant promises of new builds instead of reigning in landlords' profits. 'MPs pay lip service to the housing crisis, but when it comes to their own expensive rents, it is taxpayers who foot the bill." A Scottish Labour spokesperson said: 'It is right that the rules around MPs' expenses are set and administered independently by the Parliamentary watchdog Ipsa. All claims have been made in line with Ipsa rules." The lowest claimants, in terms of rent at least, include Scottish Labour MPs Melanie Ward and Gordon McKee, who claimed £680 and £1365 a month respectively.
The National
03-06-2025
- Business
- The National
Scottish MPs panned over up to £3500 a month taxpayer-funded homes
Tenants union Living Rent have branded it 'shocking'. According to Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority data, Scottish Labour MP for Glasgow East John Grady is spending the most on rent at £3500 a month. His fellow Scottish Labour colleague, Dunfermline and Dollar MP Graeme Downie, is paying (and expensing) a hefty £3350 a month. READ MORE: Border checks on fruit and vegetable imports from EU scrapped Meanwhile, Scottish Labour MP for Bathgate and Linlithgow Kirsteen Sullivan is paying £3250 a month. Rounding out the top 5 are Scotland Office minister Kirsty McNeill and SNP MP Kirsty Blackman on £3200 a month. (Image: Image of John Grady by Colin Mearns, Newsquest)MPs are allowed to expense the costs of a second property to either have a base in their constituency or somewhere to stay when they travel to parliament, if their seat is outside of London. They can also claim up to £230 a night for hotel stays. But Aditi Jehangir, the chair of Living Rent, hit out at the amounts some are claiming. The average rent in London for a one-bedroom flat is £1500 according to the City of London, although that can vary depending on which borough. Although, even for the most prestigious areas in London, including Westminster, the average still sits around £2500 a month. Properties you can rent in London for £3500 a month include a 'stylish Manhattan-inspired apartment' near Waterloo station. According to the listing, it offers a "luxurious lifestyle with hotel-like amenities", including a 20-metre swimming pool, private screening room, executive lounge, golf simulator, wine cellar and thermal suite facilities. It could also secure a 'very spacious' four bedroom apartment in a mansion block close to the O2. "It's shocking to see Scottish MPs spending so much of taxpayers' money on renting second homes for themselves, while refusing to support rent controls for their constituents,' Jehangir told The National. (Image: AFP/Getty Images) 'Rents across the UK are skyrocketing to extreme, unaffordable levels, plunging tenants into poverty and pushing us out of our homes.' She added: 'Rather than fighting for a system that works for everyone, they are happy to claim back thousands of pounds in expenses and fob tenants off with distant promises of new builds instead of reigning in landlords' profits. 'MPs pay lip service to the housing crisis, but when it comes to their own expensive rents, it is taxpayers who foot the bill." A Scottish Labour spokesperson said: 'It is right that the rules around MPs' expenses are set and administered independently by the Parliamentary watchdog IPSA. All claims have been made in line with IPSA rules." The lowest claimants, in terms of rent at least, include Scottish Labour MPs Melanie Ward and Gordon McKee, who claimed £680 and £1365 a month respectively.
