SCOTTISH Labour’s Katy Clark demanded an emergency rent freeze for all tenants north of the border as she warned that costs were “spiralling out of control” in a new parliamentary motion today.

The Scottish government’s draft strategy consultation paper on a “new deal for tenants,” which closes next Friday, pledges to introduce a system of rent controls by 2025.

However Ms Clark, MSP for West Scotland, stressed that tenants cannot wait that long due to record levels of inflation and rent cost rises.

SNP ministers’ own statistics show the average rent for a two-bedroom property is already well above inflation in some areas, the former MP said. 

“Rents have spiked dramatically in recent years and are now being hiked yet again at the worst possible time,” she said. “Tenants cannot wait until 2025 for rent controls.

“The UK government is clearly not doing enough on cost of living, but housing and rental law are devolved. The Scottish government therefore urgently needs to act.

“My motion calls for an emergency rent freeze and sets out why this is vital given the challenges so many are facing.”