Property industry calls on Scottish Government to refocus on the economy and new housing investment

Commenting on the ending of Bute House Agreement announcement today, SPF Chair Maria Frankcé said:

‘We agree with the First Minister that the ending of the Bute House Agreement offers the Scottish Government an opportunity to refocus its priorities. Today we call on the Government to reprioritise Scotland's economy and promote investment into the infrastructure that Scotland needs to make it the best place to live and work.

‘Scotland is in the grips of a housing crisis with a low or no-growth economy, and increasing the supply of homes of all tenures to buy and rent is the only long-term answer to this challenge. To help achieve this goal, we urge the First Minister to work with those seeking to build more, high-quality Build-to-Rent homes in Scotland to address the negative impact that the government's current rent control proposals are having on investment.  

‘The clear message we heard from the Scottish real estate industry at our conference just yesterday in Glasgow was that the market needs clarity and a pragmatic policy framework on rent controls. Unless we see the current rent controls proposals amended, we are in danger of Scotland losing up to £3bn of build to rent led investment. The Scottish Government needs to realise that this would be an enormous, missed opportunity both for the Scottish economy and its communities.’