There’s not much point raising wages if rents keep rising too

The government cannot sit on its hands and blame market forces for the plight of those citizens who will never get on the property ladder (and quite possibly don’t want to either). It doesn’t take an economics degree to see this is a problem of supply and demand to which building is the solution.

Don’t the banks have a role to play in enforcing landlord registration rules?

HAVE you ever committed a crime by accident? Perhaps you’ve absent-mindedly left a shop without paying, or crept above the speed limit, or breached a celebrity superinjunction. If you’re an “accidental landlord” you might be indulging in criminal activity at this very moment, by letting out a property without registering. If so, should you beContinue reading “Don’t the banks have a role to play in enforcing landlord registration rules?”

How to solve the housing crisis? Focus on quality, not just quantity

HOUSING provision is more than just a numbers game, but numbers are a great place to start so Nicola Sturgeon’s pledge to build 50,000 homes over the life of the next parliament is very welcome news. This target falls some way short of that sought by Shelter Scotland, of 23,000 new homes a year, butContinue reading “How to solve the housing crisis? Focus on quality, not just quantity”