The Scottish Government should reconsider the implications of its flagship Housing Bill as a matter of “urgent priority”.
Stuart Patrick, chief executive of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, has warned the pipeline of build-to-rent projects, hailed by developers as key to solving the city’s housing shortage, has been virtually wiped out against a backdrop of uncertainty on rent control policy.
Writing in The Herald today, Mr Patrick described the new Bill as an “obstacle” to hopes of an increase in the residential population of the city centre, which has long been held up as crucial to restoring its prosperity.
Stuart Patrick: Time for less conversation and more action on business
“Glasgow city centre needs business investment to aid its recovery from the pandemic and the ongoing shift to online shopping,” Mr Patrick writes. “There is also a widely shared aspiration to increase the residential population.
“However, the current Housing Bill has become an obstacle with the Scottish Property Federation arguing that as much as £3.2 billion of direct investment in 20,000 new rental homes is at risk because of uncertainty around rent controls.
“Evidence from the planning pipeline in the city centre reinforces that view, with a healthy list of proposals for build-to-rent projects now nearly vanished and almost all new projects are exploring student accommodation instead. Reconsidering the implications of the Housing Bill for business investment is an urgent priority.”
Boost for Glasgow as major firms flock to Bothwell Street
The Housing (Scotland) Bill introduced by Scottish ministers earlier this year includes new proposals for long-term rent controls for private tenancies. It came after emergency rent controls were introduced in 2022 to protect consumers as the cost of living spiralled. Those controls, which included a moratorium on evictions, expired at the end of March.
Last weekend, Scottish Government rent controls were blamed for the collapse of a proposal to build 375 flats in the Cowcaddens area of Glasgow. Vertu Motors revealed that the sale of a 1.15 acre site next to its Macklin Motors Nissan Glasgow Central dealership had fallen through “due to the impact of recent legislative changes in Scotland imposing rent controls”.
Elsewhere in his article, Mr Patrick assesses what the Scottish Government now led by First Minister John Swinney could do to support business and the economy.
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