Scottish parties must support private rented sector

Party conference season is in full swing. At the time of writing, the Scottish Tories and Liberal Democrats have both had theirs, as have the Greens, and Scottish Labour are currently in progress in Paisley.

This being an election year, the conferences are of more importance than usual, as they are key events at which members, activists, lobbyists, and others can influence policy and those all-important manifestos. There’s much to play for.

I was asked to speak at the Scottish Tory conference at Edinburgh’s Murrayfield Stadium, and I thank the organisers for that. It was a pleasure to speak with delegates and to get an insight into what is shaping housing policy within the party, as well as to hear directly from those who are campaigning on the ground.

It got me thinking. During a housing emergency, what should the parties be discussing when it comes to the private rented sector (PRS) and housing more widely? And what is it that we as SAL want to see them coming forward with in their manifestos?

While the parties will come up with policies to distinguish themselves from one another and attract voters, I believe they should have a few things in common.

The first is something they’ve all done, to one extent or another. That is to recognise that housing in Scotland is facing difficulties unlike anything we’ve seen before. There aren’t enough homes available to rent or buy, the market is suffering, and people are finding it difficult to secure suitable accommodation in the places they need it.

The second is more of a challenge, and some parties have made more progress towards it than others.

The PRS plays a key role in housing in Scotland, and landlords, usually small or medium-sized businesspeople, are the linchpin of that. If we are to fix Scotland’s housing emergency, then encouraging landlords to invest and making it more attractive for them to do so and thus bring more homes to the market in more places, is essential. Without that confidence and willingness to invest, supply will not increase.

Part of this acknowledgement will be to admit that there has been a hostile attitude towards landlords in recent years, which has manifested itself in policies like rent controls that risk having the exact opposite effect of what we should all be aiming for. If policy makes the sector less attractive, fewer landlords will enter or remain in it, and that ultimately reduces choice and availability for tenants.

Finally, every party would be very well advised indeed to develop a clear strategy for the PRS. For too long, landlords and our tenant customers have faced uncertainty and a feeling that we, as housing professionals, and those we provide housing for are twisting in the wind and vulnerable to political whims and fancies. Short-term or reactive policymaking has not helped to build stability or long-term confidence.

That’s no way to stabilise, grow and instil confidence in a market, and it has had negative effects.

None of the parties have produced their manifestos yet, but they will be in the process of writing them. In this column, I make this offer: if you want to know what your PRS policy should involve, please consider engaging directly with the sector as widely as possible and listening carefully to those operating within it.

As SAL, we have a huge amount of experience and institutional know-how at our disposal, built up over many years of working in Scotland’s housing system, and I would be delighted to meet with you to discuss how we can work together constructively.

Scotland is in the middle of a housing emergency, we all agree on that, but it is fixable, and it is fixable only if we work together. So please, get in touch, so that your offer to the Scottish people can deliver a PRS that works for all.

Article by John Blackwood, chief executive of the Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL)