SNP's rent controls approved as empty and second homes poised for council tax hikes
The Scottish Government rejected plans to end tax breaks for the King’s properties and allow councils to force the sale or lease of derelict buildings or land
MSPs have overwhelmingly approved permanent rent controls after the SNP’s landmark Housing Bill was approved, with second and empty homes poised for council tax hikes.
The legislation will allow councils to designate rent control areas, capping costs increases at inflation plus one percentage point - but mid-market rent (MMR) and build-to-rent (BtR) properties will be exempt.
The legislation will strengthen the housing rights of victims of domestic abuse and requires an “ask and act duty’” on public bodies to help early action on preventing homelessness.
MSPs approved an amendment by the Scottish Greens allowing council tax on second and empty homes to be raised by unlimited amounts, potentially to the 300 per cent already in place in Wales.
Greens co-leader, Ross Greer, said the measure will “shift the balance away from second home ownership, help first time buyers and protect communities”.
But MSPs rejected a flurry of amendments including cutting the time limit for council tax debt to be repaid as well as proposals that would have given councils powers to force long-term derelict buildings to be sold or leased.
READ MORE: What is included in Scotland's Housing Bill? Rent controls, eviction protections, second homes
SNP Housing Secretary Mairi McAllan said a “thorough process” has taken place for the “ground-breaking” legislation, which she said will alleviate the housing crisis.
But Tory MSP Meghan Gallacher claimed the permanent rent controls could “devastate the housing market” and “worsen the housing crisis”.
Labour’s Pam Duncan-Glancy said her party would support the legislation but branded it a “missed opportunity to address the housing emergency in Scotland”.
The legislation was approved as new statistics revealed the number of new homes being completed fell by 6 per cent in the past year, alongside a 3 per cent decrease in the number of new homes being started. The number of social homes started in Scotland has fallen to the lowest levels since records began in the mid-1990s.
Scottish Federation of Housing Associations (SFHA) chief executive, Richard Meade, branded the statistics ”a desperate situation”.
Earlier, the Scottish Greens’ attempt to give councils the power to force long-term empty homes and land to be sold or leased, was rejected by Ms McAllan.
Greens MSP Maggie Chapman said that the legislation should be used to “send a clear signal we will no longer tolerate houses being empty when people are homeless”.
Mr Greer failed in a bid to force a council tax revaluation, stressing that using data “34 years out of date” for the charge was “absurd”.
Mr Greer withdrew a bid to cut the time limit for council tax arrears to be pursued in Scotland from 20 years to five years and his proposal to end property tax breaks for the King and “other wealthy elites” after failing to win support from SNP ministers.
Ms McAllan also rejected an amendment by Tory MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston for SNP ministers to commit to “end rough sleeping by the end of the decade”, after the Conservative said his proposal would “prompt action from the Scottish Government to bring it to an end”.
But the housing secretary, who acknowledged rough sleeping was a “very important matter”, warned Mr Halcro Johnston’s amendment was “inflexible and unworkable”, adding that it “overlooks key aspects of the problem”.
MSPs voted 89 to 28 in favour of the legislation.
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