Stepping inside the new Candleriggs development is like being sucked into a Scandi-meets-mid-century-modern cocoon. Compared with the chaotic bustle of Trongate, the interior of the new build-to-rent apartment block has the echoey silence of something new or without contents. I came in on a whim to view a studio that I knew I could not afford. But I was tempted to see just how easy finding a flat could be if money wasn’t a concern, now that so many of these sites have reached completion.

It was a few months ago. A long-term relationship had ended and I needed to find somewhere to live. My family is 4,365 miles away and too long on friends’ sofas gnaws at my sense of self-worth.

The girl behind the desk was cheerful, asking me a few questions about what I was looking for before showing me the furnished studio they had available. I don’t know why I was expecting it to be as kitted out as the photos online. A simple table and chairs, coffee table, sofa, basic side tables and ottoman bed were arranged inside the 37.4 square metre room. I gazed out the first-floor window at the view: New Wynd and its new secure needle-drop box.

Clack clack clack. “The windows are triple-glazed so even though you’re in the city it’s very quiet inside,” the receptionist said, tapping the glass with her nail. It felt like a sad, transient place for £1,200 a month, give or take. Not for me.

Rents in the private sector had climbed significantly since the last time I was in this position. Private rooms on SpareRoom (a risky gamble) were topping £600 a pop. The cheapest one-bedroom flats I saw for rent were upwards of £850. I’m lucky to have a full-time job and no dependents but it’s frustrating to feel like you are working all of the time and just treading water.

Glasgow is the second most difficult place to secure a rental home in the UK with more than 50 people enquiring about each city property, according to Rightmove. The only people I know around my age (29) who have bought flats got financial assistance from family. It would probably take me 15 years to save up for a deposit, so renting it is.

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In a housing crisis, I believe the number one priority should be ensuring homeless families and people are first in line for secure and suitable accommodation. But in tackling a broader affordable housing strategy, renters seem to fall through the cracks. The hottest topic to consistently flare up is rent control but it is very sticky. Polling from August 2024 shows that 82% of people in Scotland support rent controls, while build-to-rent (BTR) developers blame rent controls (or any regulation, really) on stagnant development. Rents are too high, but we need the city to be attractive to investors so that they are enticed to develop here.

Housing Minister Paul McLennan came under fire from the Greens this week for setting out a proposed amendment to the Housing Bill which would allow rents to be increased above inflation and by up to 6% in rent control areas. In a statement, Glasgow Greens councillors Seonad Hoy and Holly Bruce accused the Government of abandoning their previous position of putting rent control power in the hands of local authorities, which the Government denies. The crux of the argument is that rents rising by inflation plus 1 per cent are unaffordable because the average wages do not rise by that amount. And local councils are more knowledgeable about what’s needed in their own areas.

The Autumn Budget confirmed that more than 230,000 people living across the Glasgow city region are expected to benefit from the national minimum wage rise, but at the same time, the Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts a drop in living standards ahead with real disposable income falling by 2029. We need investment in the city, but at what cost?

(Image: Gordon Terris)

The landlord lobby has more power than tenants do. Just look at the still-derelict site of the former College Street Goods Yard. In August 2023, Get Living boss Rick De Blaby came out guns-a-blazing over rent controls, saying it was impacting returns for “pension fund owners and the tens of millions of pensioners that are affected". In 2022 it was reported that Get Living was a partnership between Qatari Diar, which is wholly owned by the Qatar Investment Authority, and property firm Delancey. Qatari Diar had capital worth around $8 billion and an investment value of $35 billion at the time of reporting. Get Living eventually sold the College Street goods yard site to Galliard Apsley Partnership earlier this year.

“Homes should be for living in, not for profit,” Greens MSP Maggie Chapman tells me. I find it hard to disagree with that. But horrible derelict sites dotted throughout the city should be for building, not for laying there. How can we have both an affordable rental sector and a flourishing economy? As a private tenant, I fear rent increases that could force me out of a flat entirely. But as a person who wants to see Glasgow thrive, I feel very torn.

Rent control needs a robust housing supply to go alongside it for it to work. It also needs to make up part of a broader housing strategy. Anyway, “purpose-built accommodation for rent, at scale” looks set to be exempt from any rent control in the upcoming Housing Bill. After poking around one of them myself, I didn’t get the feeling they were for the people of this city anyway. They seem better suited to transient laptop workers paid higher wages from head offices in other cities. I think I would feel like Patrick Bateman if I lived in one, personally.

Glasgow City Council announced its Strategic Housing Investment Programme for the next five years – a step in the right direction for the relentless housing emergency. The plans, which will now be submitted to the Scottish Government, require £1.139 billion to deliver up to 7,200 affordable homes, the majority of which will be new-build properties for social rent.

It’s a complicated issue to unpack: how do we fix the Housing Crisis? But it’s a conversation that we must continue to have until we get it right. Because everyone deserves to have a safe, warm, affordable place to live regardless of whether they rent or buy.

Marissa MacWhirter is the editor of The Glasgow Wrap. Each morning, Marissa curates the top local news stories from around the city, delivering them to your inbox at 7am daily so you can stay up to date on the best reporting without ads, clickbait or annoying digital clutter. Oh, and it’s free. She can be found on X @marissaamayy1