BBC - Half the story again

[Protheroe]

Nowhere in this article does it mention Sturgeon's Rent Freeze & Eviction Ban, and the clamour amongst all Scottish parties (exc. Tories) for rent control  - which is the key dynamic at play.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-63206999

If you didn't know Scottish politicians of the left were hell bent on destroying the private rented sector the article would never tell you why there was "a significant contraction in the private rented sector in many Scottish cities"

[SophLad]

Nowhere in this article does it mention Sturgeon's Rent Freeze & Eviction Ban, and the clamour amongst all Scottish parties (exc. Tories) for rent control  - which is the key dynamic at play.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-63206999

If you didn't know Scottish politicians of the left were hell bent on destroying the private rented sector the article would never tell you why there was "a significant contraction in the private rented sector in many Scottish cities"

Pfft.  Landlords are always saying that governments are "destroying the rental sector" including those in England.  If they are trying to destroy it, they're not very good at it.  

Although I'm not sure why any government would try and destroy it personally.  Regulate it sure.  But don't push decent landlords out of the game by making it unprofitable/too much hassle.

[Borin' Baggie]

Why the hell is a bill that has no effect on the issue outlined in the article owing to the fact that it wasn't passed until the 6th relevant, exactly?

[Protheroe]

Why the hell is a bill that has no effect on the issue outlined in the article owing to the fact that it wasn't passed until the 6th relevant, exactly?

Rent Control has been on the agenda since 2016 when the Nats legislated for RPZ's. The coalition with the Greens takes it further, as below:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotti...e/pages/5/

The incremental moves towards rent control are highly relevant, unless you don't think landlords take notice until legislation takes effect? That wouldn't be rational, would it? The inexorable shift towards AirBnB in Edinburgh & Glasgow bears this out. 

The UK government meanwhile is moving towards dropping the planned no-fault eviction ban, which is a step in the right direction.

[Borin' Baggie]

Err, this exact issue has been replicated in Bristol (first years are commuting from Newport) and Manchester this year. Last year the exact same thing happened in York (first years were commuting from Hull). This isn't an issue isolated in Scotland. As for AirBNBs, the same thing that is happening in Edinburgh's old town is happening in York, Cornwall, the Lake District and the West End in London (a.k.a. high tourism areas). This is a UK-wide issue.

I'd also like to hear your suggestion on how to reduce rental housing insecurity brought on by the many rogue landlords in this country given that there is a severe shortage of housing in this country and you approve of no-fault evictions.

[Protheroe]

Err, this exact issue has been replicated in Bristol (first years are commuting from Newport) and Manchester this year. Last year the exact same thing happened in York (first years were commuting from Hull). This isn't an issue isolated in Scotland. As for AirBNBs, the same thing that is happening in Edinburgh's old town is happening in York, Cornwall, the Lake District and the West End in London (a.k.a. high tourism areas). This is a UK-wide issue.

I'd also like to hear your suggestion on how to reduce rental housing insecurity brought on by the many rogue landlords in this country given that there is a severe shortage of housing in this country and you approve of no-fault evictions.

In the OP a "40% drop" in privately rented properties is cited. That definitely hasn't happened in the rest of the UK.

I have no suggestions to reduce rental housing insecurity. Rental housing is by definition less secure. I believe rogue landlords ought to be dealt with under existing Environmental Health legislation, and that includes local authority landlords who've created enough squalor of their own.

You won't reduce rental housing insecurity by making the shortage of homes worse, in fact you'll turn it into an even more expensive grey market as in most big European cities that have adopted rent control and protection from eviction.

[Tom Joad]

The fact is, traditionally buy to let landlords are always the first to pack it in when the going gets tough, rates rises or property crashes. Only yesterday I was listening to a private landlord bleating that his mortgage had gone up so much there was no profit in it anymore so he needed to sell. I held some buy to lets (commercial properties with flats), in the days when mortgage rates were in double figures. It was a struggle but also I understood it was an an investment. Too many landlords now have had it too good for a long time, expecting both a profit plus their tenants paying for their investment. It wasn't always this way.

[Borin' Baggie]

Err, this exact issue has been replicated in Bristol (first years are commuting from Newport) and Manchester this year. Last year the exact same thing happened in York (first years were commuting from Hull). This isn't an issue isolated in Scotland. As for AirBNBs, the same thing that is happening in Edinburgh's old town is happening in York, Cornwall, the Lake District and the West End in London (a.k.a. high tourism areas). This is a UK-wide issue.

I'd also like to hear your suggestion on how to reduce rental housing insecurity brought on by the many rogue landlords in this country given that there is a severe shortage of housing in this country and you approve of no-fault evictions.

In the OP a "40% drop" in privately rented properties is cited. That definitely hasn't happened in the rest of the UK.

I have no suggestions to reduce rental housing insecurity. Rental housing is by definition less secure. I believe rogue landlords ought to be dealt with under existing Environmental Health legislation, and that includes local authority landlords who've created enough squalor of their own.

You won't reduce rental housing insecurity by making the shortage of homes worse, in fact you'll turn it into an even more expensive grey market as in most big European cities that have adopted rent control and protection from eviction.

It might not have happened in the rest of the UK but it's happened in places like York where there has been a massive boom in holiday homes squeezing available rental homes (especially student lets), York like central Edinburgh (where the University of Edinburgh is) both are huge tourist destinations. The environment is a bit different compared to Selly Oak. A similar thing is happening in Oxford (another touristy city). See the pattern?

Existing environmental health legislation is piss poor, doesn't cover enough rogue activities for it to be applicable in a lot if not a majority of instances and it's harder to enforce with public sector cuts.

It's all well and good saying "build more homes" but until that actually happens you can't account for it. I also don't agree with rent controls, though I wholeheartedly agree with making no-fault evictions either impossible or the very least extremely impractical - especially seeing as buying a first home is more difficult now that any other point in recent history in this country with the age of a first time buyer creeping upwards to the point where it's past where people want to start a family (here's a hint, some level of housing security is very much a necessity when starting a family).

[Protheroe]

Liberals believe in property rights. Surely protection from eviction is incompatible with that?

[Ossian]

The southern Democrats - those of them who refused to accept the outcome of the civil war - believed in property rights (as in, we expect to be able to keep our slaves).

It's a concept not without its questionable side.