Under the proposal, renters would be granted an exclusive period in which to purchase the property at a fair market rate before it is listed publicly.

Mr Swinney argued the measure would help those struggling to get onto the property ladder, saying too many people were “stuck paying more on rent than they would on a mortgage” with nothing left to save for a deposit.

He added: “That is made all the more difficult when private renters find themselves having to leave their home because the owner has decided to sell up. As well as forcing people to upend their whole lives, it also has serious financial implications.

“That is why I will give renters the right to first refusal on the home they live in – at a fair market rate – if the owner of the property decides to sell.”

The announcement comes against a backdrop of deepening housing pressures in Scotland. The average property price rose to £188,000 in January 2026, with Edinburgh homes averaging £294,000 – above the UK average of £268,000. Average monthly rents now stand at £1,022, and two years ago the Scottish Parliament declared a national housing emergency citing a shortage of social homes, rising homelessness and soaring property costs.

Alongside the first refusal policy, Mr Swinney is promising a new housing agency, planning reform, and a £100 million first homes fund offering first-time buyers up to £10,000 towards a deposit, with the Scottish Government taking a recoverable stake in the property.

Scottish Labour’s housing spokesman Mark Griffin accused the SNP of allowing housebuilding to “collapse” and dismissed the proposed agency as “yet another quango” representing poor value for taxpayers’ money. Labour has pledged 125,000 new homes under what it describes as the most ambitious housebuilding programme in the history of devolution.

The Scottish Conservatives’ Meghan Gallacher said the plans would make it harder to bring homes to market, pointing to rent controls as having caused rents to rise faster in Scotland than anywhere else in the UK.

The Liberal Democrats accused the SNP of repeatedly re-announcing the same commitments while affordable housebuilding rates have collapsed.

The Scottish Greens are calling for bolder action, including a large expansion of social housing and permanent rent controls, while Reform UK opposes rent controls and argues faster planning and prioritising local people for homes is the answer.

Industry body Scottish Land & Estates warned the first refusal policy could cause serious damage to the private rented sector. Senior policy adviser Anna Gardiner said the proposal would introduce “delay, bureaucracy and legal complexity” into what should be a straightforward process, driving up costs and accelerating the exit of landlords from the market.

She drew parallels with the agricultural lettings sector, “where intervention has led to a clear contraction in the availability of land to rent”, emphasising “a real risk this policy repeats those mistakes in the housing market”.

Ms Gardiner continued: “It is also deeply concerning that there appears to have been little consideration of the impact on rural Scotland. In many rural communities, access to rented housing is essential to support local businesses and a mobile workforce, particularly in seasonal industries. Any further reduction in supply will have significant economic consequences.

“Data we released earlier this year shows the direction of travel is already worrying, with a decline in the availability of private rented homes recorded across 14 predominantly rural local authority areas between 2022 and 2025. The sharpest fall was in the Highlands, where there are now more than 1,000 fewer homes available to rent privately than in 2022. Measures like this will only reinforce that trend, ultimately reducing choice and availability for tenants across Scotland.”