On Monday 22nd September, HISA Perth President Andi Garrity rallied with other students’ associations and unions, alongside Living Rent (Scotland’s Tenants’ and Community Union) outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh for strong rent controls in the new Scottish Housing Bill.
I’m Andi Garrity, the HISA Perth President, and part of my manifesto objectives I included the cost of living. When I found out about the National Student Housing Campaign and the Housing (Scotland) Bill that was entering Stage 3, I decided to help how I can. Last academic year HISA joined the campaign, focusing on the debates in the Scottish Parliament. Our cross-campus officers spoke with other officers from students' associations and students’ unions across Scotland, attending rallies on behalf of UHI students and much more. The aim was to address the critical gaps in the Housing Bill in Scotland by advocating for student-focused amendments that would improve housing conditions for students. amendments.
Across the University of Highlands & Islands region, housing is limited and expensive to start with; especially with second homeowners choosing short-term lets instead of long-term tenancies pricing students out of our rural communities. Some landlords have “no student” clauses further pricing students out of education. Housing costs and poor conditions are forcing students into poverty, damaging mental and physical health, and undermining our ability to focus on our studies.
When the bill was introduced at Stage 1 the main goal was to get people talking to ensure students and student residential tenancies are involved in discussions for the bill and amendments. Students’ associations across Scotland held different events calling for action. Some students’ associations were sitting on sofas outside their campuses showing that 2 in 5 students have gone without heating and that only having £50 per month after rent is not enough. The campaign also started a social media campaign to raise awareness nationally and not just at their campuses.
The housing bill then graduated to Stage 2 where the campaign was working directly with Members of Scottish Parliament (MSPs) to encourage amendments which include students and ones generally that will help all tenants.
Students across Scotland are being priced out of education, with Purpose-Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) rents rising by 34% since 2018. One in five students now rely on food banks to get by.
Stage 3 was the final stage to get any final amendments to the bill to support our students. Members of the campaign wrote a paper with comparisons on the how other countries in Europe differ from Scotland with their contracts, rights, obligations, spaces, guarantors, rent, and deposits to inspire amendments to the bill. The stage didn’t last too long as a new Housing Minister was appointed that felt action needed to be taken.
As soon as myself and other officers involved in the campaign knew the timeline was brought up to be debated and decided on the week after, I cancelled the annual leave I had planned for the rest of that week and came onto Perth campus. I promoted around my campus about the significance of the campaign, and we worked with the National Union of Students to get a link set up for students to enter the postcode enabling them to email their MSP. I wrote a letter—cosigned by other HISA officers—to send to all 92 MSPs across the UHI region urging them to stand up for the need for student rent controls in the Housing Bill as agreed by the Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee. Urging them not to let any of our hard-fought protections and the work of the PBSA review group go to waste. We called for MSPs to vote in favour of stronger protections for students at Stage 3 and use their debate time to call for real regulation of student housing.
On Monday 22nd Sept, we were invited to join Living Rent for a rally outside the Scottish Parliament. One of our returning student officers in the campaign from Herriot Watt University Students’ Union was invited up to speak and noted how impactful the student movement was in ensuring fairer rent controls that will affect everyone across colleges and universities throughout Scotland and the knock-on effect we have on non-student tenants. Even though the housing bill was to be in the parliament debate the next day we will still use the momentum of it to keep fighting for rights as student tenants. Hearing how MSPs speak about students in the debate is a massive cultural shift from being consistently left out in these discussions. Any additional student stories on housing issues and the effect housing of costs to go forwards with and push for further change will help aid our cause as whilst the bill is a big win there is still more to come!
For any active issues please contact our HISA Advice service or Living Rent via their local branches. If you are in Inverness, contact Louis (louis.mcintosh@livingrent.org). If you are in Paisley, contact Glenna (glenna.jones@livingrent.org).
If you have a story you are happy sharing to aid the campaign, email me at hisa.perth.president@uhi.ac.uk