Scottish Labour calls for action to tackle spiralling private rents
Private-rented sector homes were where nearly half of the rent-arrears homeless came from in the past year.
Last updated 19th Aug 2018
Almost half of people made homeless due to rent arrears in the last year lived in the private-rented sector, according to Scottish Labour analysis.
The party said that in 2017-18, 46% of homelessness applications made due to either rent arrears or defaulting on payments came from the private rented sector (PRS) - although private-rented accommodation only accounts for 15% of Scotland's housing stock.
Scottish Labour said its analysis of the Scottish Government statistics highlights the need for an overhaul of the PRS where it said it appears rents are simply out of control and people are losing their tenancies far too easily.
It is proposing a "Mary Barbour law" - named after the activist who led opposition to rent increases in Glasgow in 1915 - to control rents and protect tenants.
Scottish Labour's housing spokeswoman, Pauline McNeill, said: "Despite only accounting for 15% of Scotland's housing stock, almost half of homelessness applications due to rent arrears are being made to those in debt to private landlords.
"It is now time for the SNP government to establish why this is happening and act to protect tenants from exorbitant rents.
"As rents continue to rise and wages stagnate, it is the poorest who are suffering from the SNP government's failure to regulate the housing market properly and create affordable rents.
"Labour will continue to pressure the government to intervene and prevent more people being made homeless."
Housing Minister Kevin Stewart said the Scottish Government's Private Housing (Tenancies) Act modernised tenancies for those in the private rental sector with modern open-ended tenancies where landlords cannot evict tenants simply because their agreement has reached its end date, while rents can only be increased once in a 12-month period, and then only with three months' advance notice.
He said: "The UK Government's continued benefit cuts will remove £4bn from people's pockets by the end of this decade and have a detrimental impact on those on low incomes in all sectors.
"The roll out of the shambolic Universal Credit has exacerbated this further and the UK Government's freeze on the Local Housing Allowance (LHA) cap means in most areas of Scotland private rental costs have substantially outstripped what can be paid through housing benefit, meaning even those on the lowest incomes will need to supplement the shortfall from wider benefits or other income, leading to hardship or housing crisis.
"That is why we are investing over £125 million this year alone in welfare mitigation to protect those on low incomes from UK Government cuts and have continually called on the UK Government to change their policies on welfare which are hurting people."
A UK Government spokeswoman said: "Homelessness is complex, and cannot be linked to a single issue. The vast majority of Universal Credit claimants receive their payments in full and on time and we have already made numerous improvements to help people access support sooner.
"This includes removing the seven waiting days, making advance payments of up to 100% available, and introducing two weeks' extra housing benefit for people joining Universal Credit from the old system. Claimants can also request direct payments to landlords and get personal budgeting support from their work coach.
"Meanwhile, the Scottish Government has significant powers over social security to both raise taxes and top up any reserved benefits and we remain committed to working with them to ensure a smooth transition of the remaining devolved responsibilities.