Open Letter to Housing Minister

We are currently looking for officers and elected reps to sign our open letter to Housing Minister Paul McLennan MSP asking for better student support in the upcoming Housing Bill.

Please read the letter below and support this action by signing up to add your name to the list!

Dear Paul McLennan MSP, 

We, the undersigned, write as representatives of Scotland’s student movement to express our concern that in the upcoming Housing Bill students and apprentices are being treated as an afterthought and risk being left out in the cold. 

We regard the Housing Bill as a vital first step on the path to tackling the housing emergency facing Scotland and strongly welcome the tenant protections and rent controls which the bill will usher in for the private rented sector. However, we find ourselves baffled and frustrated by the choice that is being made by your government to exclude student accommodation from this regulation. 

Housing is housing, and a home is a home – it shouldn’t matter which type of landlord someone pays for the roof over their head, the protection they receive from their government should be the same. As rent dramatically increases in student accommodation across the country, increasing the risk of people being made homeless or skipping meals to afford their rent, there is no excuse for not applying the same regulation to these homes as those in the private rented sector. 

The housing bill must be expanded to recognise students and apprentices as tenants and to take into account their specific needs as renters. We ask that you amend the Housing Bill to extend all tenant protections and rent controls to purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) on an equal basis to the private rented sector. Otherwise, this government will have failed students. 

We are also greatly concerned that the bill does not mention or address the issue of guarantors. Renters are being asked to provide a UK-based guarantor who owns property or earns a certain amount of money to guarantee that they will pay their rent or pay up to 12 months’ rent up-front on top of their deposits. This causes huge problems in accessing a place to live for international students, as well as students and apprentices who are from a working-class background, are estranged, care-experienced or carers themselves: all vulnerable groups of renters whom our government should be aiming to protect. NUS Scotland surveying shows that 12% of students experience homelessness during their studies - but this rises to 21% of international students and 27% of estranged students. 

The requirement for a guarantor to rent is causing stress, suffering and pain to our society’s most vulnerable people – it must be abolished. In England an amendment to the Renter’s Reform Bill may be doing just that, as housing is devolved, we need our elected representatives here in Scotland to take ownership and responsibility on this issue - let’s not let Scotland fall behind. We ask that you demonstrate your government’s conviction in helping students, apprentices, and all of Scotland’s tenants by amending the Housing Bill to include a provision which abolishes the requirement for a rental guarantor. 

Finally, we request that you meet with student officers from a range of universities and colleges across Scotland to discuss these issues urgently. 

On behalf of Scotland’s students and apprentices, please don’t let us down. 

 

Yours sincerely, 

Sai Shraddha S. Viswanathan, President, NUS Scotland

Emma Maclsaac, Deputy President, North East Scotland College Students' Association

Christina Schmid, President, Aberdeen University Students' Association

Omowaleola Adebayo, President, University of the West of Scotland Students' Union

Shannon MacCallum, Vice President Education, Highlands and Islands Students' Association

Cameron Fields, President, Heriot-Watt University Students' Union

Holly McAdams, Vice President Academic, Heriot-Watt University Students' Union

Danielle McFawns, Vice President of Academia, Dundee University Students' Association

Muhammad Rauf Saddique, Vice President for Student Development, University of the West of Scotland Students' Union

Adelayo Adebayo, Vice President Education, University of Stirling Students' Union

William Campbell, President, Highlands and Islands Students' Association

Oluwatomisin (Tom Tom) Osinubi, Vice President GSBS, Glasgow Caledonian University Students' Association

Evans Eghan, President for Societies and Community, Edinburgh Napier Students' Association

Karim Hurtig, Vice President for Welfare, Aberdeen University Students' Association

Justine Pedussel, Vice President Communities, University of Stirling Students' Union

Jay Brown, President for Academic Life, Queen Margaret University Edinburgh Students' Union

Ewan McMahon, Housing Representative, Student Representative Council, Dundee University Students' Union

Dora Herndon, President, Edinburgh University Students' Association

Ruth Elliott, Vice President Community, Edinburgh University Students' Association

Charlie Wilson, Vice President Education, University of Strathclyde Students' Association

Chloe Sandilands, President, New College Lanarkshire Students' Association

Connor Skipsey, Vice President, Ayrshire College Students' Association

Jack Whyte, Vice President, South Lanarkshire College Student Association

Luke Webster, Vice President, Abertay University Students' Association

Saul Corbett, Co-President Central, Scotland's Rural College Students' Association

Miles Rathoerl, Vice President for Education, Aberdeen University Students' Association

Bryan Igbinigie, President (Communications & Democracy), Robert Gordon University Students' Union

Jeremiah Chibueze, Co-President South and West, Scotland's Rural College Students' Association

Sebi Merino, Vice President Community, Heriot-Watt University Students' Union

Rachel Poole, Vice President Wellbeing, Heriot-Watt University Students' Union

Polly Vaker, Vice President Social and Activities, City of Glasgow College Students' Association

Adam Lowe, President, Edinburgh College Students' Association

Mursal Noori, Vice President, Glasgow Clyde College Students' Association

Kayleigh Gallacher, President of Wellbeing and Equity, Fife College Students' Association

Toby Wordie, Housing Volunteer Officer, University of Stirling Students' Union

Valeria Ramos, Vice President Learning and Teaching, City of Glasgow College Students' Association

Ciara McCarthy, Vice President of Diversity and Wellbeing, City of Glasgow College Students' Association

Andi Garrity, Perth Depute President, Highlands and Islands Students' Association

Yolanda Tracey, Vice President, Glasgow Clyde College Students' Association