A Scottish tenant union has used the launch of its Holyrood election manifesto to call for the private rented sector to shrink over the next parliamentary term, putting fresh pressure on landlords already facing rent controls and wider political scrutiny north of the border.

Living Rent wants the private rented sector reduced

Living Rent said its 2026 manifesto backs a long-term shift away from privately rented housing and towards what it calls universal public housing. In the shorter term, it wants the next Scottish government to commit to reducing the size of the private rented sector, while expanding council and social housing.

The union also wants wider use of compulsory purchase powers and says landlords should be barred from serving as elected representatives at local or national level. For landlords, that combination points to a more openly hostile political debate as Scotland heads into next month’s election campaign.

Living Rent, in its manifesto, said it is organising “towards abolishing the private rented sector” and wants the next housing strategy to include a commitment to reduce the sector’s size over the next parliamentary term.

The demands go beyond the current framework set out under Scotland’s rent control regime, which already requires councils to assess local rental pressures and propose rent control areas by May 2027.

This follows Residential Landlord’s recent report on Scotland’s record-low housebuilding output, which highlighted the supply side of the housing crunch. Set against Residential Landlord’s earlier coverage of fresh calls for a rent freeze, the latest manifesto suggests the political argument in Scotland is moving further away from supply growth and closer to direct intervention in the private rented sector.

Election pressure adds to uncertainty for Scottish landlords

Living Rent is also calling for rent controls to apply more widely and to reduce rents over time. That would go further than the current system, which limits annual rises in designated areas to CPI plus 1%, subject to a 6% cap.

For investors, the immediate issue is not whether every demand becomes law. It is that these proposals shift the tone of the debate before the election and make the Scottish market harder to price for risk. Landlords already dealing with tax pressure, compliance costs and weak supply signals may see another reason to hold back investment.

• Rent control politics remain live ahead of the Holyrood vote
• Calls to reduce the PRS add to long-term policy uncertainty
• Investors may delay purchases until the next government’s direction is clearer

The manifesto itself is available on Living Rent’s website, and it gives landlords a clear warning about where campaign pressure is heading even if ministers stop short of adopting the full agenda.

Opinion

Scottish landlords do not need to guess the direction of travel here – campaigners are saying it plainly. When a tenant union is openly calling for the sector to contract, the risk is no longer just tighter rules but a political climate that treats private investment as a problem to be reduced. That is a hard backdrop for any market that already needs more homes.