54 - Housing Bill part 1 Rent controls and tenants' rights with Dr John Boyle

The Scottish Housing News Podcast

With the long-awaited Housing Bill finally here, hosts Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black will dedicate the next four episodes to digest various elements of the legislation, including homelessness and domestic abuse, culminating in an interview with housing minister Paul McLennan. But we begin the series with a discussion on increased rights for private tenants and, arguably the most contentious proposal, rent controls.

In previous episodes, we’ve heard tenants' union Living Rent say rent controls are absolutely vital to keep rents affordable and prevent people being priced out from living in Scotland’s cities. We’ve also spoken to landlords who argue that the measures will see reduced investment and more landlords leaving the sector, leading to higher costs for tenants.

To debate the merits of the Housing Bill and its impact on the private rented sector, Kieran Findlay and Jimmy Black speak to Dr John Boyle, the Director of Research & Strategy at Rettie.

Professor Douglas Robertson also contributed to this episode, but we had audio issues and so we can’t use the recording. However, you can find Douglas’ spirited contribution in the transcript.

A transcript of this episode is available here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/housing-bill-part-1-rent-controls-and-tenants-rights-podcast-transcript

Jimmy Black has written a blog to accompany the episode here: https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/blacks-blog-rent-controls-mean-well-but-do-they-work

Further reading:

• https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/scottish-government-publishes-new-housing-bill

• https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/holyrood-committees-launch-joint-consultation-on-new-housing-bill

Kieran Findlay is the editor of Scottish Housing News. Jimmy Black is a former Dundee housing convener and housing justice campaigner.

Feedback on this episode and the podcast is welcome via our social media channels:

⁠https://twitter.com/ScotHousingNews⁠

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/28156734/⁠

⁠https://www.facebook.com/ScotHousingNews⁠

Read all our news and sign up for our free daily newsletter at ⁠https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/