LANDLORDS “cannot be trusted” now that the temporary eviction ban has ended and nearly two-thirds of Scottish renters fear losing their home, according to their union.

Under pressure from tenants’ union Living Rent, a short-term ban on evictions and a rent cap had been put in place by the SNP-Green Scottish government in 2022 as a measure to limit damage done to renters by the cost-of-greed crisis as more permanent regulation was developed.

But this provision ended at the end of March and the regulations were replaced by a strengthened adjudication process for rent increases, allowing rises of 6 per cent or less with an effective cap of 12 per cent.

Ministers also published the long awaited Housing (Scotland) Bill last month, part of which allows for the creation of rent control areas where prices are judged to be too high.

But Living Rent warns the Bill faces months of parliamentary scrutiny and is years away from coming into force.

Some of its members have reported rent hikes as high as 80 per cent and Living Rent argue its recent survey of 903 private renters shows the real-world impact.

Seventy-three per cent say a rent increase will mean cutting back on essentials, 85 per cent report it will have an impact on their quality of life and a staggering 98 per cent say the fear of rent increases or eviction was having a damaging impact on their mental health.

Living Rent’s national campaign officer Ruth Gilbert argued that the survey “drives home the crises that are facing tenants.”

She said: “Now that the rent cap and eviction ban have ended, tenants are faced with a tidal wave of evictions, rapid increases in homelessness and an overall rise in poverty. 

“We know we can not trust landlords to regulate themselves.

“Though the government has announced their Housing Bill, it will be years before tenants feel its protections. 

“Current regulation is not strong enough. The rent adjudication measures are complex and unworkable and landlords will continue to exploit every loophole possible to increase rents and displace tenants.

“Our findings should be a call to MSPs to champion thorough and robust legislation that puts the hundreds of thousands of tenants first.

“Tenants need a robust system of rent controls tied to the property, not the tenancy, which protects all tenants.”

Green minister for tenants’ rights Patrick Harvie argued that renters’ protections in Scotland were the “strongest in the UK.”