The Scottish Government did not consult with anyone in our sector before making this announcement. This is very unusual, normally the Scottish Government consults with housing associations before making any policy changes that may have a significant impact on us, in the same way we consult with our tenants before we make any major policy changes. This unexpected announcement has led to a significant amount of discussion between our sector (led by the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, of which we are a member), other industry bodies, individual housing associations and the Scottish Government.

It is not clear what will happen yet, but housing associations, unlike private landlords, are not profit making organisations, and many, like ELHA, are Registered Charities. We are also regulated by the Scottish Housing Regulator. This means we only increase rents by the amount we need to each year, but this also means that we do not have surplus cash to fall back on to cope with an unplanned Rent Freeze.

Equally, we run our business efficiently, and so are able to consult on an increase well below inflation this year, with no impact on services. That follows on from an increase that was 2% below inflation last year, and a Rent Freeze the year before that. But in a high-inflation environment, any rent freeze this year would be too much for us to handle without major cuts to services (for example, we would immediately have to look at services like our Money and Home Energy Advice services, we would have to cut investment in things like new bathrooms, kitchens and heating systems, and potentially look at reducing our Rent Discounts).

The Scottish Housing Regulator has advised all housing associations in Scotland to continue with rent consultations with their tenants. We hope what we are consulting on is seen as a fair balance between managing the impact of the high inflation rate on our business and doing our best to keep rents as low as possible during this cost of living crisis. Ultimately if the Scottish Government decides to impose something different on all of us, then whatever the outcome of our consultation, we will have to react to that.

But we hope it does not come to that, and that the Scottish Government can see that all Scotland’s housing associations are doing what they can to keep increases to a minimum.