SNP and Green ministers are under pressure to back an emergency rent freeze to help hundreds of thousands of tenants.
Scottish Labour has tabled an amendment to a planned coronavirus law which would block any rises by landlords.
Legislation going through Holyrood would give Ministers powers to respond quickly to future public health emergencies, including in schools and the justice system.
Part of the bill would make it harder to evict tenants, but critics want rent levels to be part of any law.
Mercedes Villalba, who represents the North East for Labour, is proposing a freeze on increases until a system of national rent controls is in place.
She said: “As the cost of living caused by the Tories gets worse by the day, low income and hard-pressed families are being hit by soaring rents in order to keep a roof over their heads, meaning that many are forced to go without other essentials.
“The SNP-Green government has the powers to ease the horrendous burden on so many poverty-stricken Scots, by supporting these proposals that would prevent landlords putting up rents, until Ministers deliver their promise to bring in a permanent system of rental controls.
“SNP and Green MSPs must vote for this parliamentary amendment to protect impoverished renters and ensure that it passes into law, as part of the Covid recovery bill.
“A failure to support these measures will be an abject betrayal of low income and hard-pressed families, who are suffering from grinding poverty due to Tory policies.”
The measure is targeted at private landlords but council and social housing tenants would also benefit.
According to the Living Rent trade union union, rents have risen by 10% in Edinburgh, Glasgow and across the central belt over the last year.
They also estimate that a two bedroom flat in Edinburgh now costs upwards of £1100 per month.
Meg Bishop, Secretary of Living Rent, said: “Our members see their rents rising to unaffordable levels and repairs being neglected, as landlords attempt to insulate themselves from the crisis and profit from our need for housing whilst the rest of us bear the shocks.
“Tenants need affordable and quality housing and the only way this can be achieved is through effective rent control legislation. The Scottish government has promised rent controls by the end of the parliament but tenants need support now.
“A rent freeze is a welcome step, however we need to go further to protect tenants.
"The Scottish Government cannot protect those bearing the brunt of the crisis without actually going further and bringing the costs of rent down.”
Tenants rights’ minister Patrick Harvie said: “The Bill extends important rights which were introduced at the start of the pandemic to provide stronger protection to tenants against eviction. These measures were consulted on before the Bill came into Parliament.
“At the same time we have consulted widely on our New Deal for Tenants. This sets out a whole range of reforms – from further protection against eviction to more rights to personalise tenants’ homes and higher quality standards.
“The New Deal also makes clear our commitment to tackle high rents and affordability by introducing rent controls, and doing so in a way which makes them robust and gives long-lasting benefit to tenants. That will only be achieved by considering all the consultation responses, and we intend to do that before legislating. When we debated this in Parliament over the last few months it was clear that there was widespread support for this approach, alongside our package of recent and ongoing help for tenants with rent costs now.”
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