Rent controls put off investors who are crucial to meeting the city's housing shortages - John McLellan

Gorgie’s very own Wolfie Smith, Cllr Ross McKenzie, took me to task for my criticism of rent controls, alleging I haven’t thought about what happens to properties if landlords decide to leave the market.

As costs soar but rents stand still then, yes, selling up is inevitable, but into a market where supply is already short. In October, the average first-time buyer paid £267,000.

Let’s pessimistically assume a market crash next year on a par with 2009, where the dip reached 16% but recovered after a year. That would briefly push prices down to around £225,000, but first-time buyers would still need an £11,000 deposit. At least.

So, your landlord serves you notice, but you can’t find somewhere to rent because the market has shrunk. You need to raise that deposit if you are lucky enough to find a property at that price and a lender prepared to give you a 95% mortgage.

But the biggest problem of rent freezes is not small-scale private rentals, but putting off investors who are crucial to meeting the overall shortages at a scale which will make a difference.

I’m told interest in two Edinburgh schemes involving build-to-rent ─ a vital tool for social housing ─ is stalling because as construction costs, so to speak, go through the roof, the numbers don’t stack up.

The rent freeze legislation is temporary, but investors have a choice, and by the time they are lifted the money could have gone elsewhere. Aren’t rent controls wonderful?