IT was only five months ago that the Scottish Parliament voted to declare a housing emergency. It was a rare moment of consensus, with MSPs from all parties agreeing that something needed to be done.

But words are the easy part – solving the problem is much harder. It takes political courage and a willingness to confront vested interests and make the fundamental changes that are so vital.

With 1.5 million people unable to access safe, stable homes, the insecurity that people have been experiencing has only worsened, with the cost of living crisis and the end of the emergency rent freeze that was secured by the Scottish Greens in the aftermath of Covid.

READ MORE: Scottish Government confirms plans to cap rent increases

This is why we have long called for the Scottish Government to take a leaf out of European countries’ books and introduce a permanent system of rent controls that would put people over profits and provide a safety net for renters who face extortionately high costs to keep a roof over their heads.

At the moment, too many landlords are happy to take a “pay it or someone else will” attitude while raising rents and eroding conditions. It cannot carry on like this. Not when so many are suffering and when entire generations are being priced out of the places they have always known as home.

The SNP published the details of their rent control plans recently, but they fall a long way from what is needed. These proposals would ensure above-inflation rent hikes for households and families across our country. Stabilising rents at unaffordable levels is no use to anyone, apart from landlords.

The promise of secure, affordable housing and better rights for tenants should not be viewed as radical, but rather as the standard values that this bill was initially designed to provide. Instead, trust in the government to make good for tenants has been broken by the latest proposals and serves as a sign that the SNP are shedding their progressive values for a more conservative approach.

There are few things as important as the roofs over our heads, but too many renters have been treated like cash cows for far too long, being made to suffer instability in order to prop up a broken system.

The landlord lobby has always enjoyed a totally disproportionate voice in the corridors of power. I have no doubt that they will be working overtime, trying to tell us that rent controls would destroy the market, but they are already perfectly normal in so many countries.

In Germany, for example, they have provided stability for tenants, providing peace of mind and supporting those who would otherwise be forced to make extremely difficult decisions for their families.

In Montreal, rent controls have been credited with enabling and supporting the vibrant cultural economy that the city sustains.

Those who can afford to buy up and rent out multiple properties ought to invest elsewhere in real business, releasing much-needed homes for renters who would love to own property, but cannot save for deposits because their money is going towards growing the passive income of someone else – their landlord.

READ MORE: Greens demand SNP stick to council tax reforms pledge ahead of Scottish Budget

With failed projects like Rent Pressure Zones that have never been applied despite their potential, it is high time for action to get renters out of this mess. That is why we have always called for the Housing Bill to be as robust as possible and to give watertight protections and rights to tenants who have so few.

A lot of us were concerned that without Green voices in the room advocating for change, the SNP would row back from bold action and progressive politics, not just on housing but on other issues too. Indeed, it feels like the goals of this bill have been diluted to keep landlord lobbyists happy rather than focusing on the needs of renters.

In government, we worked with tenants organisations and campaign groups to deliver a new deal for tenants, while some people in government and the SNP did what they could to water the bill down.

One national newspaper has quoted senior government sources pledging a “light touch approach” to regulations.

The status quo in the private rented sector is unsustainable for far too many people. It is not a light touch that they need. It is a transformation. And that need is even greater as we approach a long cold winter which will only make the crisis more pressing.

The Everyone Home campaign, a coalition of charities and campaign groups, has warned of the very real risk to life for people who are homeless or facing homelessness across Scotland, adding another layer of urgency for this bill to provide clear rights and fundamental change for some of our most marginalised citizens.

It is a damning indictment of a housing system that is full of holes. All too often, underfunded local authorities are finding themselves struggling to meet their obligations to those without shelter, leaving third-sector organisations to pick up the pieces where the government has failed.

Despite the huge constraints of devolution, our parliament has the power and the opportunity to end so much of the precarity and instability facing far too many people and to provide the safety, security and peace of mind that tenants across Scotland are crying out for.

We must grasp that opportunity and ensure homes are for living in, not for profiteering.