As Humza Yousaf is voted in as the new First Minister and a cabinet reshuffle seeing Paul McLennan in a new position as Housing Minister, there are pressing issues within the entire housing and property sector that need to be prioritised as part of the Scottish Government’s new leadership agenda.
The new Ministerial post for housing means that Scottish Government have a dedicated position for the first time since Margaret Burgess left the post in 2016.
Social and affordable homes
Mr McLennan’s focus will be on social and affordable housing, homelessness and welfare. Reading between the lines, it seems the private rented sector will remain firmly in the hands of Patrick Harvie as Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights.
A major issue within the private rented sector is the lack of supply of homes, and whilst Mr McLennan takes on the Scottish Government’s Housing to 2040 strategy, the huge part that the private rental sector plays in supporting people to live, needs to be fully realised. This comes as the confidence of letting agents and their landlords to remain in the sector is being questioned due to ongoing legislative pressures and the lack of incentives available.
The long-term solution to address the lack of affordability in the private rented sector is to ensure that more social and affordable housing is built to reduce housing need. To boost the supply of rented housing and reduce rent rises, the Scottish Government should lower the 6% surcharge on additional homes to encourage further investment in the private rented sector.
Empty homes
More action is also needed on empty homes to increase the number of properties for people to rent or buy. Empty homes can lower land values and make it harder to sell other properties nearby. There also needs to be a clear focus on building homes for older people and provide incentives to ‘rightsize’. This is important because by 2036, it is estimated that one in three people will be over the age of 65 in most Scottish regions.
The forthcoming energy efficiency targets will not only affect landlords, agents and tenants, but homeowners too. More financial support is needed to incentivise people to make energy efficiency improvements to their homes and help reduce the estimated 40% of UK emissions that come from households.
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