TLDR: Good (as it stands)
🏘️Rents tied to property, not tenancy + landlords can only increase rent once a year(in rent control areas (RCA)
0⃣Rent can be capped at 0% in RCAs
🐶Rights for tenants with pets and decorating
💻LL's will have to provide info on previous rent charged.
Good cont.:
👋Tenant can end a joint tenancy provided they give 2 months notice to remaining joint tenants.
Bad:
🤔Unclear mechanism to collect data which made RPZs unworkable.
💸Low or no fines for landlords that break the rules.
✍️RCAs hard to implement.
It is more important than ever that students in uni halls or private student accommodation know their rights and know how to enforce them. Legislation in Scotland allows students to give 28 days' notice in writing to end their tenancy for 'reasons relating to coronavirus'
What is a reason relating to coronavirus? This is vague in the legislation, but it is clear that the rise of outbreaks in student halls suggests that they are not a safe place to be. Those who wish to leave should be allowed to do so under this legislation.
If you do wish to leave your tenancy, confirm this by email to your accommodation provider before Sept 30th, the date these provisions expire. Your email should state that you wish to exercise your rights under the Coronavirus (Scotland) (No2) Act 2020.
Passionate about social justice? Organising experience under your belt? Living Rent is looking for an experienced organiser to lead our staff team and grow the organisation.
We believe in starting local, focussing on building up neighbourhood level branches of paying members that can then take on campaigns using a wide range of tactics including direct action.
We’ve already won major reform such as the private tenancy act, improving the lives of 100,000's of tenants in Scotland. We have won countless local campaigns to win justice for members, + our work to support members during Covid demonstrates our ability to respond to change
The Scottish government have just announced the creation of a £10m loan fund for tenants struggling due to cornavirus as well as the extension of the eviction prevention protections.
Though the introduction of the £10m hardship fund is a positive move, nothing is stopping landlords from simply raising rent once they know that this fund is available to tenants. The only way to properly support tenants during this pandemic is the introduction of rent controls.
Similarly, the six month extension of the eviction protections is a step in the right direction, but tenants have and will slip through this legislation. The government needs to commit to a total eviction ban or else be faced with further public health issues.
News of the extension was welcome and hard fought. But tenants continue to receive eviction notices and are being forced out of their homes illegally.
Kevin Stewart's recent letter to private tenants also contradicts the legislation. Stewart’s letter states that ‘no landlord should evict a tenant because they have suffered financial hardship due to Coronavirus…’.
Yet member defence teams are working with more than a handful of tenants served notices for Covid-related arrears and these are not isolated cases. As the Ferret’s investigation disclosed last week, more than 350 private tenants have been served notices to leave during lock down
This is a huge win for Living Rent and tenants and would not have been possible without the organisation of tenants across Scotland to protect our interests.
We welcome the continuation of the ban. However, this is the bare minimum and will not address the deep routed cracks in our housing system. For housing justice to be truly won and for tenants to be fully protected from the pandemic, we need rent controls.