Chamber and committees

This might represent the most important part of my work this week, convener.

Amendment 39 moved—[Miles Briggs]—and agreed to.

It is my intention to press amendment 4 and to ask members to support Willie Rennie’s amendment 5. This is our one opportunity to remove the social rented sector from the bill, and members across the Parliament need to take it, because the damage that including that sector and its not seeing the future investment that is vitally needed for all our communities would cause is unacceptable. I hope that it will be removed.

I will also move amendment 23. However, given what the minister said about amendment 26, I am happy not to move that amendment and to have discussions before stage 3, tomorrow.

My amendment 77 looks to put in place a point at which the bill would expire. The First Minister has stated that such interventions in the housing market must be time limited. The bill is emergency legislation and it must have an end date. Therefore, we note that ministers are already signalling two potential extensions, which would mean that the bill would sit on the statute book for at least 18 months.

Examples from other countries, such as Sweden and Ireland, indicate that prolonged controls on rents can lead to significant housing shortages, which, in turn, hurt potential tenants and homeless people who are trying to access tenancies, especially private tenancies. Therefore, I hope that members will support amendment 77 to put in place an expiry date for the bill.

Amendment 4, in my name, would remove the social rented sector from the bill and exempt it from regulations. The social housing sector is already highly regulated and has taken important steps in keeping rent increases as low as possible. Furthermore, the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations has warned of unintended consequences from the bill for social housing and the development of affordable housing, as well as potential consequences for construction costs, which have increased, and for meeting net zero targets. We therefore ask members to support my amendment 4 and Willie Rennie’s amendment 5.

Amendment 23, in my name, looks towards mid-market rent properties, which are an affordable housing tenure that housing associations offer. They are homes that are for rent to households that are on low to middle incomes.

Rents for MMR homes are generally set lower than private rents but higher than housing association rents for social housing. The tenure is an important part of the housing mix to support those who may not be eligible for or who cannot access social rented homes but who struggle to afford higher rents in the private rented sector. The issue is that the tenancy type is a private residency, so it is the same as homes that are rented from private landlords. We therefore hope that members will support my amendment 23.

My amendment 26 relates to rent increase notices that are sent to tenants before the legislation expires. The bill states that any rent increase notice that is served while the rent cap is in force will have no effect. That means in effect that no rent increase notice can be served on any tenant prior to 1 April 2023, if we assume that the rent freeze expires the day before that, so the rent freeze would remain in place until the end of April—not the end of March, as ministers have outlined—given the requirement to give 28 days’ notice of any rent change in the social sector. We therefore believe that landlords should be able to provide such notices before 1 April.

I move amendment 4.

Convener, I think that that is maybe the wrong group.

I listened to the flawed logic of the cabinet secretary. What she is saying also applies to the social rented sector. In other words, it is this SNP-Green Government that is trashing the social rented sector in Scotland.

Amendment 39 relates to landlords having the right to decant or evict tenants in the case of essential work and demolition, which has not been discussed. Essential work, such as the removal of asbestos, can be dangerous to occupants. Therefore, landlords should be able to decant tenants from properties that are undergoing essential maintenance. Furthermore, landlords should also be able to evict tenants when buildings have to be demolished. Demolition could occur because a property is too old and unsafe for occupants. Therefore, we propose the amendment to keep tenants safe as well.

My second amendment in the group, amendment 43, relates to landlords having the right to evict unlawful occupants. An unlawful occupier is a person who lives in a property without the consent of the home owner. They could include people who were not initially agreed on when the lease was signed. Therefore, landlords should have the right to evict them. A landlord is unable to charge those occupants rent, as they are not the tenant so, if the landlord is unable to evict due to the moratorium, it would represent a significant financial loss. That ground is already used commonly to evict tenants who have ended their tenancy but not notified the landlord and not moved out.

I hope that the Government considers those amendments workable.

In the light of the minister’s commitment with regard to stage 3, I will not move the amendment.

Amendments 26 and 27 not moved.

Amendment 28 moved—[Murdo Fraser].

I heard what the minister said, but the Government is now proposing a review at 31 March, and I am not sure whether he said that the potential additional work that the tribunals system will face if that is extended beyond 31 March would be financially supported. Would that be done at a six-month review or for the next financial year if the Government gives resources from April?

I understand that, but my concern is that—given the additional work that the tribunals system could face and the fact that it already has an eight to nine-month waiting time and backlog—that will not help the system if it is not in a good place financially. I intent to press the amendment, and I hope that ministers will take on board the need to ensure that the tribunals system works—otherwise it will collapse.