Written evidence on the Housing (Scotland) Bill

Shelter contributed to the development of the policy agenda on the private sector as a member of the Housing Improvement Task Force, and made a number of recommendations for the creation of a more vibrant private sector, and in particular a better functioning private rented sector. However, we also make points relating to the impact of introducing sellers' surveys on those who may wish to exercise their Right to Buy.

The following principles are fundamental to developing proposals for a Private Sector Housing Bill.

• A healthy private sector is important for the functioning of the housing market as a whole. Physical conditions within the private sector should not be viewed in isolation from broader housing policy.  Concentrations of disrepair can lead to abandonment of properties, low demand and market failure.  This housing bill could include a number of provisions to prevent and respond to these housing problems.  A focus on area renewal, the introduction of Compulsory Leasing Orders for empty homes, and the creation of a thriving private rented sector could provide many areas of Scotland with a new lease of life.
• Policy makers have by and large viewed the private rented sector as a small sector that provides for households on a transitory basis, before they enter owner-occupation.  In contrast to England, the private rented sector has not increased in size, with the only real growth in the last ten years being in the major cities.  However, the lack of affordable housing in the social rented sector, and the increase in house prices have meant that many more people are turning to the private rented sector to be housed.  These fairly recent trends have increased the need for more active government engagement to create a thriving private rented sector.  The policy agenda should create a sector that is easy to enter and remain in, and provides a sustainable housing solution to those who cannot access social housing or buy their own home.
• The continuation of an unregulated private rented sector throughout the late 1990s resulted in a weakening of the relationship between private landlords and the public sector.  Landlords viewed regulation as a threat to business opportunities and there was a continuing perception of landlords as being purely motivated by making money.  Of course neither caricature is wholly accurate, but a debate on the private rented sector must respond to landlords' concerns; balancing that with the legal rights of tenants and the long-term health and reputation of the sector. 
• For over a generation, people living in mobile homes have had far less security than those living in permanent structures.  However, current legislation makes a distinction in rights between those who own and those who rent their mobile homes.  Public policy must accept and act on the principle that anyone who rents a mobile home should have equivalent rights as those who rent permanent structures.