YOU suggest (“Rental rises among highest in UK”, The Herald, July 12) that rent increases in Scotland “are among the highest in the UK” and were growing at “almost twice the countrywide average”. Actually, the opposite is true.
Independent figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) published just last month show private rents in Scotland increased on average by 0.4 per cent in the year to May 2016, compared to growth of 2.6 per cent in England.
The ONS index of private rents aims to measure price changes for all private rental properties by comparing price changes over time for like-for-like properties.
Looking to the future and how we ensure we keep rents at an affordable level, we are taking action now to address housing affordability by increasing the supply of available homes. We have exceeded our target for building 30,000 more affordable homes and set an even more challenging target of 50,000 homes by March 2021. We are also working with the private sector to attract new investment for the building of more new homes to rent.
Kevin Stewart,
Minister for Local Government and Housing,
Scottish Government,
St Andrew’s House,
Edinburgh.
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