Private Sector Rent Reform

That the Parliament notes that, over the last 10 years, the number of households in the private rented sector has doubled to 368,000; notes with concern that the number of households in poverty in the private rented sector has doubled in the last decade to 120,000; further acknowledges that, in parts of Scotland, rents have risen by nearly 40% in four years and that the average Scottish rent now stands at £537 a month; welcomes Shelter Scotland’s Make Renting Right campaign; supports its calls for reform of the private rented sector, and, in particular, believes that private rented sector tenancies should be reformed to provide tenants with greater security of tenure, including longer standard tenancies and predictable rents for tenants and landlords, including supporting in principle the introduction of a cap on rent rises and the limitation of rent reviews to one per annum.