Labour’s slogan “Change” was impossible to avoid during the 2024 UK General Election. It was everywhere. It also worked. We got a change in government and our new Labour administration has already run out much, if not all, of its honeymoon period. “Change” is what was offered, and “change” is what the public expects to be delivered.
No sector needs change more than housing, especially in the private rented sector.
The past few years have been difficult for private renting in Scotland and across the UK. The spectre of rent controls in Scotland and the Renters (Reform) Bill in the UK, which was thankfully talked out in the last parliament, have haunted our sector and done serious damage to market confidence and willingness to invest.
The working relationship between government and landlords has, regrettably, become frosty thanks to these anti-industry policies, increasingly sour climate, and ideological mistrust. This must change.
It’s not just been talk either, there has been real damage done.
According to the last Scottish Government Scottish Household Survey, the proportion of households in the sector has dropped by 20,000. The Scottish landlord register makes for similarly grim reading. The conclusion is clear. Professional landlords are leaving the sector and taking their properties from the rental sector with them. It’s also causing a significant drop in investment, with its corresponding drag effect on the housing supply and the inevitable impact on rents.
It's time for a reset. Politicians, at Westminster, Holyrood, and at a local level need to embrace landlords in the private rented sector as part of the solution to Scotland’s housing challenges. Making it unaffordable to be a professional landlord, as recent proposed measures will surely do, will only exacerbate the difficulties faced by both government and the sector.
Following the election of a new UK government and with the potential of a new Scottish government approaching as quickly as 2026, now would be a great time to start that process.
As the body representing Scotland’s landlords and letting agents, the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) are committed to working productively with politicians of all stripes, both in government and in opposition.
All private, social and public housing providers have a key role to play in making sure that everyone in Scotland has a home that works for them, when they need it.
SAL, and our English and Welsh colleagues at the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), are the experts in private rentals. We implore our governments to consider us as partners, not opponents, and commit to meeting with us, discussing with us, and working with us to prioritise the health and vibrancy of our sector, for the good of all involved.
Now, more than ever, policy makers and housing providers need to work in partnership to provide the much-needed homes we all need. But we can’t do it alone, we need our politicians to see private landlords as the solution to our housing crisis and not the problem. This would be real change.
John Blackwood is Chief Executive of the Scottish Association of Landlords
Agenda is a column for outside contributors. Contact: agenda@theherald.co.uk
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