This is a desperate and urgent time for millions of people.
With runaway inflation, soaring prices on our supermarket shelves and skyrocketing energy bills we are on the verge of the worst social emergency for decades.
Increasing rents have added to the perfect storm of debt and rising costs that almost everyone is experiencing. All across the country there have been appalling stories of landlords hiking rents. Our homes are more than bricks and mortar. They play a key part in shaping our health, wellbeing, and life chances.
Increasingly, with the rise of hybrid working, they are where many people now spend most of their time.
That is why the Scottish Greens and Scottish Government are working to ensure that tenants rights are at the heart of our response.
The rent freeze and eviction ban announced by the First Minister yesterday are the clearest example of how much we prioritise helping tenants.
They will provide vital stability and support and will be welcomed by tenants across Scotland at a time when many are suffering.
The Scottish Greens, in line with our co-operation agreement with the Scottish Government are not just Tweeting about change, we are doing the work of delivering it.
Today’s announcement has ensured that Scotland is at the forefront of change.
But that won’t be the end of the story, as my Scottish Green colleague and Minister for Tenants Rights, Patrick Harvie will set out in Parliament on Wednesday.
The pandemic has been punishing for all of us, but particularly for people in cramped and overpriced accommodation.
That is why we are working to ensure that Scotland sees the biggest expansion of tenants’ rights since devolution.
This will include simple things like the right to keep pets and decorate, more technical measures like greater penalties for illegal evictions and regulations for energy standards, as well as whole new policy areas such as a robust and national system of rent controls.
As we build a fairer, greener and better recovery we will work to ensure that no-one and no home is left behind.
Ross Greer is an MSP for the West of Scotland
