Renfrewshire’s Scottish Green MSP Ross Greer, has urged the Scottish Government to support renters by extending protections currently set to end on 1st April.
In response to the cost of living crisis in 2022, Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie MSP introduced a temporary cap on rent increases. When this expired in 2024, the Greens introduced a system allowing tenants to challenge rent increases, continuing efforts to keep rents down.
A system of permanent rent controls also proposed by the Scottish Greens is currently being debated in Parliament. If approved by MSPs it would come into force in 2027. Despite this, the Scottish Government has announced that the current temporary measure allowing renters to challenge rent increases will be allowed to expire at the end of this month.
The cost of renting a two bedroom home in Renfrewshire and Inverclyde is £697, which is an increase of 47.4% since 2010.
Ross Greer MSP said: “Rents across Renfrewshire have skyrocketed. Private landlords are lining their pockets while renters pay the price.
“Our Green proposals for permanent rent controls are likely to be agreed by MSPs. Right now, renters are protected by temporary controls also introduced by Green MSPs, but without further action by the Scottish Government these protections will end this month. This will expose households across Renfrewshire to huge rent increases.
“Removing these protections without replacing them will result in households across Renfrewshire being hit with huge rent increases.
“If the Scottish Government is serious about supporting renters, the least they can do is extend these modest measures to help them through a cost of living crisis which is far from over.”