Debbie Horne is Scotland policy and public affairs manager at Independent Age

WE hear too often from older renters who are unable to find or afford a place to call home.

That’s why many are hopeful that the Housing Bill making its way through the Scottish Parliament will improve their situation.

Our charity, which supports older people in poverty, lots of whom are renters, welcomes many of the proposals put forward in the legislation, including increasing protections for renters against evictions, improving homelessness prevention and in making reasonable changes to their homes.

With more than one-third of older private renters in Scotland living in poverty, the principle of rent controls included in the Housing Bill is an important and welcome element.

While we of course need more social homes as part of tackling the housing emergency, for older people in the private rented sector, it’s essential we get rent controls right.

At Independent Age, we are concerned that recent suggested changes to how the controls could be delivered may leave older private renters in a precarious position.

Currently, it is suggested that rent controls are determined based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure showing how the price of a typical shopping basket of essentials has changed – a gauge of inflation – plus 1%. This is to a maximum of up to 6%.

We’re concerned that limiting the options for introducing rent controls to this measure – effectively above consumer inflation – isn’t the most effective way to decide rent controls.

For example, if these measures had been in place in much of 2022 and 2023, when inflation was incredibly high, rents could have increased by the full 6% – at a time when the Scottish Parliament had to introduce an emergency cap of 0%.

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We're concerned that using this metric to determine rent controls will be unaffordable for many of the older people in poverty who we support.

Rent controls calculated in this way will do little to reassure older private renters facing often unaffordable rent increases. This is important when we know housing costs are a key driver of poverty rates.

Before housing costs, 21% of older private renters are in poverty, but after housing costs this rises to a staggering 34%.

Older people in financial insecurity usually live on a fixed income, so they have little ability to absorb increased costs.

Unaffordable rent means that a person’s spending is squeezed in other places. Our polling has shown that more than one in four (28%) older private renters in Scotland have less than £200 a month left after paying their rent.

This often means that spending on essentials such as food and energy, let alone a cup of coffee with a friend in a cafe, has to be cut.

More than one in three older private renters told us they have felt anxious about paying rent.

We are clear that rent controls have a place in Scotland. They are popular with older renters across the country, with our polling showing that 82% support limits on how much landlords can increase rents. But they must be calculated in a way that is affordable for renters.

The current metric proposed for rent increase caps of CPI+1% could leave little flexibility for renters, nor Government ministers, to respond to the situation on the ground.

When the Housing Bill was first introduced, a number of alternative options were on the table. We’d like to see these reconsidered to ensure sufficient options for managing private rent costs are available.

On Thursday, the Scottish Parliament will have its Stage 1 Debate on the Housing Bill. The bill has the potential to drastically improve the situation for older renters and we are keen to see it progress.

Over the coming months as changes are made to the bill, we must remember affordable rent is a cornerstone of a fair housing market that works for everyone, and would help make sure we can all afford a place to call home in later life.