Member

Before concluding, I will say a brief word about the approach of the SNP-led Scottish Government. Their experience offers us a clear lesson. Similar changes to those proposed by this Bill were implemented in Scotland with noble aims, but we have seen a sharp rise in landlords leaving the market there and the fastest rent increases in the UK as demand quickly outstrips supply. Research by Indigo House, the housing expert, has found that none of the Scottish legislation since 2017 has protected the majority of private residential tenants against excessive rent increases or high advertised market rents. Its research showed that tenants have found it increasingly difficult to find a place to call home and, perhaps most alarmingly, that the legislation has had a particularly negative impact on those in the greatest need, including homeless households and those claiming welfare benefits.