The publication of the draft new housing law "killed off all interest in build to rent housing in Scotland for the foreseeable future", senior industry figures have said.

In the final part of our exclusive special series, investors and industry chiefs have said damage is already done to Scotland's housing stock with new investments worth billions shelved.

It comes as Living Rent, the tenants' union, said that "effective rent controls are a crucial part of the solution to Scotland's housing emergency".

The group of housing leaders that "collectively represents the entire spectrum of private rented housing providers across Scotland" said the Housing (Scotland) Bill, currently under consultation, has already brought years of instability.

"In its current form, the draft Bill leaves too much uncertainty meaning it is unworkable from an investment perspective," said the More Homes More Quickly group, which includes the Scottish Association of Landlords, Scottish Property Federation, the Association for Rental Living and Hearthstone Investments, said.

"This means that all funding for such schemes has now been invested elsewhere in the UK or beyond, and financial institutions and funding partners have turned their back on this type of development in Scotland."

MHMQ added: "The draft Bill defers any real clarity until at least November 2026, when councils are mandated to file their assessment of their rental markets with Scottish Government, meaning that it will be well into 2027 before developers and investors can look to progress build to rent (BtR) schemes, assuming, of course, that the legislation is workable.

"This means that it will be 2030 or beyond before any of the stalled BtR developments are ready to accommodate their first residents.

"Business requires clarity, consistency and certainty and the property industry is no different. The bill as drafted is neither clear, consistent or certain."

SNP government-led rent controls were blamed for the stalling of Get Living’s plans to build 1,500 homes in Glasgow, while Elgin-based Springfield Properties said that the day the Scottish Government announced its initial 2022 emergency rent freeze it "immediately saw a deal to deliver 300 quality, energy efficient PRS (Private Rented Sector) houses collapse, and this investment has been lost".

SPECIAL SERIES:

Part One: SNP housing law 'open to potential legal challenge'

New Scottish housing rent controls put forward by industry

Comment: Scottish rent controls plans 'rejected by councils'

Part Two: Housing law rent controls exemplar was ‘unmitigated disaster’

Comment: Housing emergency 'has never been more glaring and urgent'

Developments coming though now are set as examples of the important role that build to rent investors and the rental sector play in helping tackle Scotland’s housing emergency.

Moda’s 156-home Casa Vista Park in Springboig in Glasgow offered a “zero-deposit rental neighbourhood”, and a two-bedroom home at £1,250 a month, £1,450 for a three-bedroom home and £1,750 for a four-bedroom home. Moda, Holland Park, on the site of the former Strathclyde Police HQ, also Glasgow, this week reached “practical completion” with the first phase of the 433-home city centre development fully let.

Ruth Gilbert, national Campaigns Chair at Living Rent, said: "Scotland is in dire need of social housing to securely house the 240,000 people stuck on waiting lists. And there have been great examples of councils taking bold action to build the quality council homes to achieve just that.

"North Ayrshire’s previous administration delivered 1,575 new council houses, and enabled housing associations to deliver hundreds more social housing units. If this scale of house building, with a focus on council housing, was replicated by councils across the country, Scotland would be on track to build 70,000 new social homes. That is well on the way to the 110,000 affordable homes the SNP has promised by 2032.

"This government needs to put the need for all to live in an affordable home before the profits of landlords and developers. It needs to fund social housing properly, follow through on commitments to introduce greater protections for tenants, such as rent controls, and greater rights and stricter enforcement of the law.

"Local authorities should also be given powers to buy back housing stock when a landlord threatens to sell, thereby bringing more housing into social stock and preventing evictions. MSPs should not buckle to landlord lobbyists who want to see these desperately needed measures scrapped."

A new briefing paper from the Institute of Economic Affairs today also provides a "comprehensive global overview of the empirical evidence on rent control policies, finding that they produce significantly more negative consequences than benefits".

It stated that: "Rent controls reduce supply of rental housing, reduce construction, reduce housing quality, reduced mobility, increase misallocation of housing and increased rents in housing not subject to rent control.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "Tackling the housing emergency requires a joint approach between the Scottish Government, UK Government and local authorities. Housing projects in Scotland have a valuable role in boosting the affordable housing supply in local areas and providing high-quality homes to meet the needs of communities for generations to come.

"Since 2007, we have supported the delivery of more than 130,000 affordable homes, with more than 93,000 of those being for social rent. We will continue to build on that record with almost £600 million of investment in the Affordable Housing Supply programme this year and we remain focused on delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032."