It’s time to fix Scotland’s broken home rental market - Lorna Slater

At the heart of this bill is a simple but vital principle. That everyone should have a safe and secure home that they can actually afford.

Average rents for a two-bedroom flat in Edinburgh have soared by more than 60 percent since 2010

For far too long, tenants in Edinburgh and across Scotland have been at the mercy of a broken rental market. Average rents for a two-bedroom flat in Edinburgh have soared by more than 60 percent since 2010 and in some parts of the city the figures are even worse.

Families, young people and even those who have lived here their entire lives are being priced out of their communities, forced to choose between rent and other essentials.

This is why rent controls and stronger protections for tenants are so necessary. No one should be spending most of their pay packet just to keep a roof over their head, while landlords make record profits. Homes are for living in, not for profiteering.

The Housing Bill is only happening because of the Scottish Greens. From the very beginning, we insisted that rent controls and new rights for tenants must be at the heart of the legislation. The Bill will help to redress the imbalance of power between renters and landlords, making sure that tenants have stability and security.

Rogue landlords have been allowed to get away with ripping off tenants for far too long.

The current system has left renters vulnerable to sudden rent hikes and insecure tenancies. That is not good enough.

With this Bill, we can finally start to change that, giving people confidence that their homes will remain affordable and that they will not be forced out by unjust increases.

I am proud of the role the Scottish Greens have played in bringing this legislation forward,

but passing the Bill is only the beginning. We need to make sure it is implemented properly and delivers the real change that tenants in Edinburgh so desperately need.

All families deserve financial stability. Nobody should have to worry about losing the roof over their head because their landlord decides to cash in. By backing this Bill, Parliament can take a major step towards making unaffordable rent hikes a thing of the past and creating a fairer, greener Scotland where everyone has a home they can afford.

This week, I urge MSPs from all parties - including the many that are landlords themselves – to support rent controls and protections for tenants. Edinburgh’s families cannot wait any longer.