A BILL designed to protect renters from unaffordable rent rises and prevent evictions was lodged to the Scottish Parliament today.

The Fair Rents Bill, put forward by Labour MSP Pauline McNeill, would put into place rent caps and other mechanisms to protect tenants from the threat of eviction.

Set at one percentage point above inflation, the limit would come alongside the requirement for landlords to disclose the rents they charge for each property when they register or renew their registration on the Scottish Landlord Register. 

Renters would also be given the power to apply for payments to be determined no more than once every twelve months. 

Scottish Labour warned that the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the insecurity it has brought to renters demonstrated the need for radical housing reform.

Ms McNeill said: “We cannot allow rents to continue to increase beyond the affordability of tenants.

“The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed the extreme precarity of many people’s finances and housing situations. Tens of thousands of families in Scotland are one missed payday away from being unable to pay their rent.

“It is my hope that this Bill will act as a catalyst for radical housing reform.”

Dubbed the “Mary Barbour Bill” after the legendary rent striker, the proposed legislation was put together with the support of legal advocacy group Govan Law Centre.

Mike Dailly, solicitor advocate at the centre, said that the Bill could prove to be a “vital part” of the solution for tenants in Scotland. 

He added: “We need to protect renters as we plan our future during the biggest pandemic in living history. 

“Without fair rent control, we will face a housing crisis for hundreds of thousands of low-income Scots.”