A sense of dismay was shared across a swathe of developers and housing operators working within Scotland’s housing industry when the Housing (Scotland) Bill was published on 27 March. Many, myself included, fear that if the Bill as it stands is passed by the Scottish Government and becomes legislation, it will only exacerbate Scotland’s worsening housing crisis with more than 53,000 people currently homeless.

At its heart, the Bill sets out plans to make changes to the law, covering rent controls, tenants’ rights to keep pets and decorate their homes, and includes a mechanism to delay evictions under certain circumstances.

Aside from my concerns, I recognise the important and well-considered policies that are included in the Bill. This includes the introduction of an ‘ask and act’ duty on social landlords and bodies such as health boards and the police and is proposed to avoid people becoming homeless wherever possible. It also reforms provision for tenants experiencing domestic abuse, with every social landlord tasked to publish a dedicated policy on how it will help tenants at risk.

Equally, the right to decorate your home and keep pets is important and for HHA tenants this is already in place, but we are pleased to see this underpinned for all landlords by this proposed legislation.

However, there are alarming elements that will ultimately slow down the construction of new homes, dampen investor appetite and reduce rental opportunities which will further constrain the market. While I am sure that that is not the intent of the Bill, we cannot deny that there will be devastating consequences at a time when we all need professionally managed, sensibly priced housing more than ever before.

HHA is a not-for-profit housing developer, working across Highland communities to deliver Mid-Market Rent (MMR) homes. MMR offers rental opportunities that are typically priced lower than private rates, and slightly higher than affordable housing. It is an invaluable solution for people on low to mid incomes who do not qualify for social housing to access high-quality and well-priced places to live.

Since being established in 2005, we have delivered more than 470 MMR homes and expect to complete 177 properties over the next 12 months, including in rural communities such as Aviemore and Carrbridge. We often develop in more remote areas where larger housebuilders are absent, and our homes are invaluable for regional workforces, supporting local economies.

We are the largest MMR housing developer across the Highlands and for every home we have available for rent, there is an average of 80 applications. This has risen year on year, underlining the pressurised rental market across the region which is somewhat a result of many private landlords exiting the market following the rent caps implemented via the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Act.

A significant proportion of MMR homes in Scotland are also delivered by Registered Social Landlord subsidiaries. Despite being a type of affordable housing with reduced rents, MMR is still classified as a private rent tenure and will be subject to the new legislation outlined for private landlords if it is passed. The MMR model is somewhat different to private rental and therefore should not be subject to the same legislation.

MMR rents are already set by the Scottish Government via Local Housing Allowance (LHA). MMR rents can also not breach the Broad Rental Market Area, again which is set by Scottish Government, so I am dismayed as to why we need further rent controls as outlined in the Bill.

Any rent increases are aligned to the Consumer Price Index in the preceding year, and this is communicated to tenants before they enter a rent agreement with HHA. Increases are not made with the intent to line our pockets, but to ensure that we can carry out essential maintenance and repairs of our housing stock and to invest in future developments.

We have absorbed maintenance and repair costs over the last three years with the rent cap in place, however that is not sustainable. Equally, we do not have limitless grant funding from the Scottish Government to progress new developments and have extensive loans in place to pay for these, with obligations to service the debt.

The bottom line is that we need more homes, and quickly. We need to remove hurdles to investment and development, not create more. Should the Bill be passed in its current form, it will slow the delivery of MMR homes at a time when we desperately need to provide places for people to live.

I am hopeful that the Scottish Government will listen to the feedback from the industry and consider the unintended consequences of this Bill, which will not serve anyone, least of all those who need access to well-priced homes.