THE announcement of a rent freeze in Scotland has been nothing if not a headline-grabber.
The policy, which Nicola Sturgeon said was effective from September 6, has already attracted praise from London’s mayor. Labour’s Sadiq Khan praised the “bold” move, and called on the UK Government to give him the power to follow suit.
And now it seems politicians and media a lot farther afield are taking notice.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon announces rent freeze for tenants – here's how it works
There was a report in the Washington Post on the announcement, and another in the global magazine Time Out.
And the New Zealand Greens – who say they’ve been pushing for a rent freeze to be brought in their country – praised the Scottish move with a cheeky video clip on social media.
“WARNING,” the party tweeted: “Shocking footage from Scotland after they announced plans for a rent freeze for public and private rented properties as part of efforts to help people struggling with rising bills.”
A caption read: “Graphic footage showing anarchy in Scottish streets after pledge of rent freeze”. But the clip showed Glasgow’s George Square with nothing really happening at all.
WARNING- shocking footage from Scotland after they announced plans for a rent freeze for public & private rented properties as part of efforts to help people struggling with rising bills. 😱 pic.twitter.com/7Ww0D1yksh
— Green Party NZ (@NZGreens) September 7, 2022
The NZ Greens added: “Struggling families shouldn’t be paying exorbitant rental $$ to wealthy landlords making record profits. Since April, our call has been backed up by the Human Rights Commission and echoed in Aus & Scotland.”
The rent freeze has been attacked by the Scottish Tories as being bad for landlords and rental supply.
Perhaps their real issue is the attention it’s getting Scotland on the world stage. God knows they hate that.
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