THE Scottish Government has been urged to extend rent protection measures as tenants face "sky-high" prices.
Tenants union Living Rent suggested rents could double in some cases without intervention from ministers.
In March 2024, when the 3% rent cap ended, measures were put in place to limit landlords from raising rents above 12%, if the tenant applied to rent officers for adjudication.
Since then, 866 appeals have been made to Rent Services Scotland (RSS), with the average rent increase capped at around 9%.
However, from April 1, the rent adjudication service will only use open market rents to determine the outcome of any appeals, meaning tenants could face huge hikes to their rent.
Living Rent and the Scottish Greens have both urged the Scottish Government to step in and implement protections while the Housing Bill is making its way through Holyrood.
Ruth Gilbert, Living Rent’s national campaign’s chair, said the Scottish Government “has completely forgotten tenants”.
“It is completely irresponsible to end the measures that have protected tenants from sky-high rent increases when rents are already pushing people into poverty,” she said.
“As soon as these measures end on March 31, tenants are going to be hit by a wave of rent increases as landlords cash in after two years of emergency protections.”
Gilbert added that while the Housing Bill makes its way through the Scottish Parliament, tenants are facing “years of completely uncapped rents”.
“Landlords increasing rents will decimate our cities, force people out of their homes and further exacerbate both homelessness and poverty,” she added.
“It is beyond belief that the government is happy with this plan. Tenants everywhere will suffer badly because of it.”
Analysis of rent adjudication figures by the union found that on average landlords proposed to raise rents by 19.7%.
Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman also urged the Scottish Government to intervene, adding that tenants will be watching costs soaring and “worrying about the future”.
“Meanwhile, there will be rogue landlords all over Scotland eagerly waiting to cash in from the minute that these protections are lifted,” she said.
“Time and again the landlord lobby has shown that it can’t be trusted to look out for the best interest of renters, and I don’t want to see the communities I represent left at the mercy of a broken housing market.
“Unless the Scottish Government acts now, households and families will be plunged into totally avoidable poverty. Do they really want to do that on top of all the cuts that Labour is implementing from Westminster?”
Living Rent also conducted a survey of 574 private tenants alongside their analysis, and found that 60% of respondents said they had a rent increase in 2024.
Aoife Deery, Citizens Advice Scotland senior social justice policy officer, said there is “huge concern” about potential rent increases.
“If further protection against high rent rises is not put in place, there will be serious consequences,” she said.
“More people in Scotland will face unaffordable rent and will have to find alternative accommodation. This means more people could become homeless.
“In the context of a national housing emergency and the cost-of-living crisis, this will add further pressure to a system that already cannot cope, and cause avoidable harm to many people.”
Housing Minister Paul McLennan said: “From 1 April, protections continue to be in place against rent increases above market rent for most private tenants and I would encourage tenants to make use of their right to a review of a rent increase.
“We know that there is a need for longer term action on rents to ensure a fairer system for tenants – that is why we are taking forward measures in the Housing Bill to support the introduction of longer-term rent control where this is needed.”
