By April, the Bute House Agreement that was the alliance between the SNP and Green Party was scrapped, and senior business figures called for the scrapping also of aspects of what they claimed was an unworkable new law.
While housing providers raised concerns over permanent rent controls in the then SNP and Green administration’s Housing (Scotland) Bill in March, it was welcomed by tenant representatives and praised for its aim of reducing homelessness and improving rights.
People including Living Rent, the tenants’ union, have been at the forefront of seeking permanent rent controls after they were originally put in place during the cost-of-living crisis in 2022 to ease pressure on families. Housebuilders have also said rent controls can work but have criticised the current format.
First Minister urged to scrap housing law
The one-time alliance involving Patrick Harvie, Humza Yousaf and Lorna Slater (Image: Newsquest) I revealed the chief executive of a major Scottish housebuilder urged the then First Minister Humza Yousaf to scrap the homes law in the wake of the Bute House alliance collapse.
The homes builder said it saw a major deal collapse on the very day the Scottish Government introduced rent controls, while it is now estimated £3 billion in wider build-to-rent investment is put at risk by formalising the policy.
Innes Smith of Elgin-based, London-listed Springfield Properties’ story is not rare – there are many across Scotland – but it was a stark indictment and his solution equally clear: “Withdraw the Housing Bill.”
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He told The Herald: “The day the Scottish Government announced a rent freeze we immediately saw a deal to deliver 300 quality, energy efficient PRS (Private Rented Sector) houses collapse, and this investment has been lost.
“These homes were designed for families seeking homes to rent sustainably and would have eased pressure in areas of high housing demand including Inverness and Midlothian.
“This was planned as the first of many deals using private investment to enable an increase in housebuilding across multiple tenures.”
Potential legal challenge
I also told how a new high-level umbrella group of industry leaders set up in response to the SNP’s new housing law has warned some aspects of the proposals could face a “potential legal challenge”.
In a special series, the group said that “collectively represents the entire spectrum of private rented housing providers across Scotland” spoke exclusively to The Herald.
It has raised “significant concerns” around rent controls and the proposed Housing (Scotland) Bill currently under consultation.
More Homes More Quickly, made up of leaders of companies and industry organisations with wide-ranging membership, has written to Paul McLennan, Housing Minister, to put forward alternative rent control options.
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The eight senior industry figures wrote: “The current approach to rent control in the Bill aims to build flexibility into the framework to avoid material unintended outcomes.
“However, it is crucial to recognise that reducing the supply and quality of private rented stock and potential spillover effects to non-controlled areas (for example, higher market rents) must be minimised.”
Mr McLennan told The Herald in response: “A fairer, well-managed private rented sector is in the interest of both tenants and responsible landlords.
“We continue to engage with stakeholders on rent controls as the legislation goes through the parliamentary process.
“Our Housing Bill includes a package of important reforms to the rented sector, and we will continue to work with tenants, landlords and investors to ensure the measures in the Bill will support our vision for improving the supply and affordability of high-quality rented housing in Scotland.”
There is to be a consultation on the details of rent controls in the new year.
North Coast 500 architect criticises tourist tax
Robin Worsnop raised concerns (Image: Newsquest) Later in the year, in an exclusive Big Read for our Business HQ Monthly supplement, an architect of one of Scotland’s most famous modern tourism coups, the North Coast 500 road trip, criticised plans to introduce a tourist tax in this country.
As proposals move through the Scottish Parliament that would allow councils to introduce a tourist tax, or transient visitor levy, the co-creator of “Scotland’s Route 66” said the move would be a “damaging step” that would “erode private sector investment”.
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Robin Worsnop, founder of Edinburgh-based Rabbie’s Tours, was among a chorus of business voices who raised concerns around creating an additional charge for visitors, as well as bringing more administration for firms as the council in the Scottish capital presses ahead with its plans.
While potential benefits include easing pinch-points and better accommodating over-tourism, how the funds will be channelled remains under debate.
Edinburgh would become the first place in the UK to launch such a city-wide levy, with Glasgow also considering a tourist tax.
Scotland powers towards new hydro energy revolution
Balliemeanoch is an important new site (Image: Newsquest) Towards the end of the year, my special series on hydropower, shortlisted for a new award by the British Hydropower Association, told how the new giants of energy in Scotland are building large-scale solutions to storing power.
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The push comes as the UK Government announced a new support mechanism expected to help pave the way for new energy projects such as pumped hydropower storage, recapped here in our monthly special.
In that three-part series in October, it was revealed that a new hydropower revolution is under way which has the potential to unlock vast energy reserve capacity.
I told that from Hollow Mountain to Red John, their names sound like Netflix spectaculars and they are blockbusters in their own right.
It was underpinned by a UK Government commitment to a support mechanism expected to help pave the way for new energy projects such as pumped hydropower storage.