Fair rents in the private sector are intended to be market rents that are adjusted to take account of the effect of any shortages of housing or other factors; that concept cannot easily be applied to the social rented sector.Amendment 303 seems to suggest that rent assessment committees should take account of rents for similar houses in the local authority area. Although that comparability is important, we do not think that that principle alone should be used to determine rent increases.In Scotland as a whole, average council house rents are currently similar to average rents in the housing association sector—although I recognise that there are variations—and they are substantially lower than average market rents in the private rented sector.