The increasingly shrill anti-landlord rhetoric from some politicians is making it harder for tenants, claims a leading industry spokesman.

John Blackwood, chief executive of the Scottish Association of Landlords, says: “The private rented sector plays a key role in providing good quality housing in Scotland.  Those who think anti-landlord rhetoric is doing any other than making it harder for people to keep a roof over their heads are kidding themselves.”

“Our members are very clear.  Demonising landlords is leading to fewer homes being available to rent in the coming decade.  We also know that many renting tenants are normally not in a position to access home ownership. 

Tenants who cannot access the private sector will only pile pressure onto already strained social housing and homelessness services.

“Increasing the supply of rented accommodation is the only way forward. The Scottish Government needs to support private landlords and encourage investment in the private rented sector while also building more social homes to rent and doing that a lot faster. Otherwise far from tackling Scotland’s current housing crisis, we will only see it get worse.”

Blackwood was speaking after seeing the results of a study suggesting that there could be a cut of more than 36,000 homes available to rent in Scotland as over a third of private landlords look to reduce their portfolios. 

SAL has published the results of a member survey of 635 of its members, with a collective private rented sector portfolio of 4,214 properties, which found 34 per cent are planning to reduce their investment in the next 10 years.

Even assuming a modest reduction of one property per landlord, this would lead to a fall of over 36,000 properties available to rent across Scotland with the two most commonly given reasons being increased regulation in the sector and perceived hostility from government.