So Much For Rent Controls - figures show increases, not falls

Property portal Citylets says average rents in Scotland rose 12.4 per cent in the past year to £1,007 per month - and that’s despite months of rent caps introduced by the Scottish Government.

On average properties taking just 21 days to let. 

Citylets says legitimate questions should now be asked about the apparent cap and eviction ban introduced by the Scottish National Party and Greens, in the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act. 

Whilst matters for tenants within existing tenancies have improved with assured price stability, Citylets says this is arguably at the expense of those seeking new properties who continue to experience considerable price appreciation and availability challenges.

Citylets says many agents report a very frenetic and difficult experience for would-be tenants at the coalface. 

Fears of a vicious circle of low supply and rising open market rents persist with a rent cap for existing tenancies de-incentivising moves within the private rental sector and constraining available supply further at a time when many plans for homeownership have also been postponed in the hope mortgage interest rates will slowly return to longer term norms of recent decades.

Citylets managing director Thomas Ashdown expresses concern as to the direction of travel: "It is imperative that the root cause of recent price appreciation in the open market is properly understood. 

“Until such time as there are clear viable alternatives, the PRS continues to play a key role in Scotland’s housing mix and should be supported as such ensuring the right balance between tenants and landlords both in terms of policy and in terms of available properties to rent. 

“We seem to be heading in the wrong direction at present and continue to hope for positive change. More houses of all kind are needed."

And Karen Turner of high profile Scottish agency Rettie & Co adds: "The rental market remains strong in Scotland. In the main, most properties are receiving high demand for viewings with several notes of interest coming off the back of the viewing. There is strong demand for student HMO properties but we are seeing limited notices coming from students, which would have been the norm at this time of year pre-Covid. 

“The demand from renters is there but there is still not enough stock to satisfy the demand. We need to see positive action from government to encourage both landlords and corporate investors to enter the market and aid the housing supply to help increase the stock across all tenures."