Are you renting privately in Scotland? Make your voice heard.

Do you rent from a private landlord? Would you like to make your voice heard on the future of renting? Then we’re here to help.

My name is James Mullaney and I am the new Private Renter Capacity Building Officer at Shelter Scotland. Over the next few months I will be working alongside renters to make sure that they have the information and tools needed so that their voices are heard loud and clear by policymakers.

If you rent privately and would like to know more about your rights, or how you can have your voice heard on issues in the private rented sector then we’re here to help.

We’re already seeing the results that pressure from renters can achieve:

• we have a new Private Residential Tenancy for all new private rented tenancies in Scotland which provides more security and stability for renters.
• we have a new tribunal in Scotland to deal with disputes between tenants and landlords in private rented accommodation

and more recently:

• a new Code of Practice for Letting Agents which sets out clear rules on what renters should expect from letting agents along with the ability to refer matters to the tribunal where a letting agency doesn’t follow the Code.

We want to build on these improvements. And this is where you come in – we need private renters to continue to tell us what still needs to be done to make private renting better.

Over the next few months I’ll be listening to what people tell us are the biggest issues they are facing as private tenants through workshops and online discussions on Facebook and our own private forum.

I’ll also be contacting existing tenant groups and other organisations who work with private renters to offer training on the rights that private tenants have and how they can enforce them. This could be an informal workshop on a common problem or an information session to look at the new tenancy changes to see how they might be of benefit to you.

It’s vital those who rent privately are listened to, not just by us at Shelter Scotland but by all the organisations who are a part of creating the rules and laws which affect private renters.

If you think this may be something that you could benefit from please contact me.

If you are part of a private tenant group or a private renter interested in private renting issues then join the discussion on our online forum: https://privatetenantsforum.scot/ or contact me by email at: James_Mullaney@shelter.org.uk