SCOTTISH Labour has urged cross-party support for a proposed law protecting tenants through the current economic crisis.

The Scottish Parliament’s consultation on Labour MSP Pauline McNeill’s Fair Rents (Scotland) Bill closed this week.

The Bill, which among other measures would impose caps on private rent rises, was initially rejected by SNP and Tory members of the local government committee — but has been resurrected following pressure from the Govan Law Centre and housing activists. 

More than 200 responses were received during the two-month consultation, and Ms McNeill has now urged all parties to listen to the voices of housing activists and support the Bill.

“Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, thousands of Scottish families were struggling to pay their rents and were experiencing annual rent increases which far outstrip inflation,” she said.

“The pandemic has made an already bad situation worse in terms of housing affordability. 

“I hope that the local government committee now understands the urgency and importance of creating robust legislation on the private rental sector and that my Bill can move forward.”

Scotland’s tenants’ union, Living Rent, welcomed proposals to limit rent increases in privately rented homes, but warned that substantial new measures were needed to protect tenants properly.

Living Rent’s Gordon Maloney said: “It is clear that rents in Scotland are utterly out of control and we desperately need measures to limit them.”

Unison Scotland also offered its support, saying there was “a need to make private rents fairer for tenants and to create a better balance of power between private landlords and tenants.”