JazzG Rent is going up higher in Scotland then the rest of the UK, how can this policy be seen as good? All the rent controls have done is kick the can down the road, those in protected tenancies are fine but a healthy rental market always has people moving in and out, those people are gonna get shafted.
I don't claim to be an expert on the issues specific to Glasgow, but you asked me for my opinion and now you're saying I have no business commenting....
I don't necessarily disagree on the point about kicking the can down the road, but when you view it as a short term measure to give people breathing space from fear of eviction or significant rent rises whilst they adjust and allow their wages to catch up, I think it was a more than fair approach. Yes, some people would have been affected by the constriction in supply, but had controls not been introduced many many renters would have been evicted at a time rents were going through the roof. I'd argue allowing that to happen as part of the status quo is the far less fair option for a government to take. Especially at a time when homelessness is going through the roof, we have many more rough sleepers than in before, and councils have ever decreasing access to temporary housing.
Also worth noting those controls ended in March and were largely a policy of the Green party when they were part of the coalition government. Longer term I believe the government (SNP) are still looking at some form of rent control but I expect that won't be as constrictive as the short term measures were, and it places more emphasis on local authorities and other stakeholders to understand, if not manage, housing better in their areas.
The reason your comment on this piqued my interest is because I suspected it was just a headline grabber, and that you didn't understand the issue or detail in any depth. I just think if you want to comment on something, know your stuff as this is much deeper than rent controls bad. I try to stay in my lane - I'm not on here commenting on London knife crime, county lines drugs gangs or morris dancing! I'm not wanting to discourage discussion on it, but it's more complicated and more specific, as many issues are, than they first appear. On the other hand, if you want to start a general thread bashing the SNP/Scottish Government then I'll join your party and we can have a whale of a time!
JazzG Yes more homes need to be built and they needed to be built yesterday. All this fucking around is just having serious consequences for society. That is one thing I home Starmer is strong on, putting his foot down and making sure the areas that can support home that they get built. Too much bureaucracy which I just feel is governments way of shutting things down.
Well if the long term solution doesn't work then we are all a bit fucked really. When you consider depleted stocks of Social housing you need to work with the private sector to make things work. Like I said by driving private landlords out has just made things worse. Another thing which has clearly made things worse is immigration, we haven't got enough housing for the people we already have here and a whole load more are coming! I don't have a problem with people coming to live here but you need to build the fucking homes to house them!
It's almost a separate issue, but I've also got a problem with the both the general quality and size of new builds. So many issues that are too numerous to mention. That's an area I would hope some action is taken in though I any improvements to both these factors would affect overall build numbers so it's likely never going to be challenged.
Social housing providers will often purchase homes, which isn't widely known. I inherited an ex-council property when a relative passed and sold it to a housing association. Got slightly less than what I would have on the market, and had I spent any refurbing it I could have got a decent bit more, but it feels good to have put that back into use than make some money by selling to a landlord who would charge double the rent a social provider does. With the right capital we could be doing more of this. Would it make a dent? Probably not. But every little helps. I'd start with slum landlords and say three strikes and you have to forfeit all your properties to housing associations at market value.
