In the media – 3 September 2024

Read the latest article from Holyrood, Scotland’s fortnightly political & current affairs magazine.

Scottish Labour signals support for rent controls

Speaking at a business leader summit hosted by the law firm Lindsays, Scottish Association of Landlords chief executive John Blackwood said the sector is in favour of regulation but is concerned about what he termed the “anti-landlord rhetoric” that has been coming from the government.

“I’m concerned about the lack of growth in investment in the sector and the fact that people [landlords] are leaving,” he said.

“There’s a lack of understanding of that from government and other political parties, but how do you encourage investment in housing when you have rent controls?

“We are all for regulation and have supported that for landlord registrations […]. People are out there saying ‘I want to invest in property – I want to do it well and I want to be a good landlord’. That’s a big part of what we stand for.

“Where we find barriers is the anti-landlord rhetoric from the government, and from the SNP and the Greens in particular.”

The full article can be read here.