CIH Scotland responds to Housing Bill Stage 1 debate

The Housing (Scotland) Bill 2024 (the Bill) passed the Stage 1 parliamentary debate on 28 November and will proceed to Stage 2 where amendments to the Bill will be considered.

The Bill includes a range of measures aimed at improving tenants’ rights including the right to request to keep a pet or make changes to the property such as decorating. A national rent control system will require local authorities to monitor and regularly report conditions in their local private rented sector (PRS) and make recommendations to Ministers about whether rent increases should be restricted.

The Bill also seeks to address homelessness by introducing a new homelessness prevention duty. The duty would require specified bodies to ask about a person’s housing situation and take certain actions if they are found to be homeless or at risk of homelessness, the details of which are still to be developed. A separate duty for social landlords to introduce a domestic abuse policy is also included in the Bill.

Commenting on the Stage 1 debate, Ashley Campbell, policy and practice manager at CIH Scotland said:

“We support the decision to take the Bill to Stage 2 following today’s parliamentary debate. The homelessness prevention and domestic abuse measures have the potential to change Scotland’s approach to homelessness services – to focus more on prevention and to formalise the vital role of partners.

“However, if these measures are to be effective, they must be fully resourced and underpinned by clear guidance developed in partnership with the organisations expected to deliver them.

“Our concerns with the rent control proposals remain. Of course we want to see rights strengthened and affordability improved, but the provisions will not achieve this without robust regulatory structures in place to support good practice and proactively enforce the rules. The current system relies far too much on tenants to police the sector and to challenge poor behaviour when they may not have the confidence to do so.

“We look forward to working with MSPs across all parties to ensure that amendments are brought forward to strengthen the Bill and deliver the Scottish Government’s ambitions to end homelessness and create a fairer rented sector.”