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SCOTLAND has a long way to go on affordable housing.
On Wednesday, The National revealed that tenants in an Edinburgh residential block have been hit with an almost 20% rent increase, in a move which has been branded “appalling” by Living Rent.
The news is a stark reminder of why housing affordability is now one of the most politically charged issues in Scotland, and why bold action here would not just be popular with those facing skyrocketing rents, but an easy win for a political class increasingly seen as out of touch.
We only need to look to other European countries to see how political parties can reap the electoral benefits by capitalising on frustration around housing.
Over the weekend, Germany’s far-left Die Linke party won the Berlin state election, becoming the largest party in the city for the first time.
Lead candidate Elif Eralp campaigned relentlessly on unaffordable rents, going viral over the “rent caps” necklace she wore on the campaign trail.
Her party pledged to freeze rents in publicly owned housing for one year, then cap increases, to bring around 220,000 flats under public control, and create a tenant-protection office to tackle unlawful rents and enforcement gaps.
The result for her party was resounding, with Die Linke doubling its 2023 vote share to around 25%.
Meanwhile, over the Atlantic, New York mayor Zohran Mamdani has placed housing and the cost of living at the centre of his agenda.
Within his first eight months as mayor, Mamdani secured a 0% rent increase for one- and two-year leases on around one million rent-stabilised apartments, covering nearly a quarter of the city’s population.
Housing has become Mamdani’s most visible political success – one which his team have capitalised on with social media – and the Democrat has maintained a high level of support since entering office.
The pattern here is clear: When politicians pledge solutions to unaffordable housing, and then deliver on them, they gain public support.
Here in Scotland, house and rent prices continue to increase across the country, while households also struggle with rising energy bills and the wider cost of living crisis. We face a housing crisis, with charities like Shelter warning of an urgent need to build more homes now.
During the Covid pandemic, an emergency rent cap was put in place. But that was lifted in March last year, and the housing crisis has only gotten worse since then.
We hear the Scottish Government talk a lot about tackling the cost-of-living crisis, but how often do we hear them specifically focus on rents?
Could the lack of focus on this topic in Scotland’s mainstream politics have anything to do with all six Holyrood parties having landlords amongst their ranks?
People across Scotland are desperate for action on housing affordability. This seems like an easy political win for whoever will pledge serious action.
Both Berlin and New York show that parties which treat housing as a frontline cost of living issue – and actually deliver on their promises – can easily convert frustration into support.
Who in Scotland has the political will to follow suit?
