Introduction
In recent years the availability of good-quality affordable hou3sing in the city of Dundee has become increasingly limited[1]. No group has been more impacted by this than students with many experiencing months of stress and anxiety trying to find accommodation for the academic year[2].
There are now growing fears amongst Dundee residents, students, city councillors and third sector organisations that our city is on the cusp of a housing emergency[3]. We agree and believe that it is clear Dundee is beyond the point of crisis and is now experiencing a housing emergency
This motion seeks to gain the SRC’s recognition of that housing emergency, to promote the actions that DUSA, in co-operation with Dundee Labour Students, are taking to address the impacts of the housing emergency, and to call upon Dundee City Council and the Scottish Government to take action to address this growing crisis.
General Information
Lack of access to affordable and adequate housing has been a long running issue in Scotland with four Local Authorities, Argyll and Bute Council, Edinburgh City Council, Glasgow City Council and Fife Council, declaring ‘housing emergencies’ in recent months[4] [5]. In Dundee the situation is equally as bleak with recent data suggesting average rents in our city have risen by over 50% in the last five years[6]. Letting agents have claimed these rises are due to the current high cost of borrowing. However, a more than 50% rise in average rents far outstrips the rate of inflation during the same period. Dundee’s rental sector has also come under pressure due to properties leaving the market in St Andrews. Astonishingly, in 2022, University of St Andrews students were advised to look for accommodation in Dundee as the town faced its worst housing shortage ever[7]. We are also concerned that many students may be unaware of their rights as tenants, recent posts on pages such as Dunfess would indicate this as renters appear to be suggesting that landlords are raising rents this year well above the 13% statutory maximum.
A large proportion of University of Dundee (UoD) students find accommodation in the private rented sector which exposes them to a wide range of well documented issues including, but certainly not limited to, unaffordable rents, unsafe conditions, overcrowding, and even harassment or discrimination. Issues related to renting in the private sector have been linked to physical and mental health issues which, according to a report from the House of Common’s Public Accounts Committee, costs the NHS up to an estimated £340 million a year[8].
An initial survey ran earlier this year by Dundee Labour Stu3dents heard from students across campus. Comments from this survey revealed issues such as appliances being left unrepaired for several years, extensive mould and fungus growth inside properties, constant water leaks and even descriptions of sexist and misogynistic attitudes from letting agents. However, one common theme across all the comments was that despite issues being raised promptly by tenants, letting agents are choosing to ignore these queries until they develop into crisis situations even choosing to blame tenants for issues they were raising.
Sadly, it appears that gender-based discrimination is not the only form of prejudice faced by those using the private rented sector in Dundee. During the process of preparing this motion we also heard anecdotally from some international students who shared that when they were last looking for housing, they made multiple rental applications with the same letting agent all of which were rejected despite positive discussions during viewings. They later discovered that every property they applied for was later either re-advertised or rented to white tenants instead, which left them feeling distressed and unwelcome.
Disabled students also face specific challenges. Outside of halls there is almost no accommodation in Dundee with appropriate adaptions to allow disabled students to live independently. This issue has been raised at SRC meetings before, most recently at our meeting in January.
Dundee City Council has not yet declared a housing emergency in our city. However, the local authority itself is facing its own challenges relating to housing with thousands of residents currently on the waiting list of a council property and growing concerns that Dundee City Council’s house building programme is behind schedule[9].
Against the backdrop of these extreme and growing challenges it would be reasonable to assume the Scottish Government is taking immediate action to address housing issues. Whilst the Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights, Patrick Harvie MSP, recently published the Scottish Government’s new housing bill with proposals to introduce new rent controls across Scotland, concerns about funding for housing remain[10]. In November 2023, the Scottish Government forced its MSPs to reject a motion of the Scottish Parliament to declare a nation-wide housing emergency by submitting an amendment to the motion[11]. Then, in the Scottish Budget for 2024/2025 the Scottish Government enacted a 27.7% cut to the Housing and Building Standards Budget and further cuts of 26% and 43% to the Affordable Housing Supply Programme and Planning Budget respectively[12]. In total the cuts come to nearly £300 million. The decisions, prompted Shelter Scotland to declare in a briefing to Members of the Scottish Parliament that they “no longer have confidence in the Scottish Government’s ability to deliver on its Housing to 2040 strategy or its Ending Homelessness Together Action Plan”.[13]
Based on our research, experiences, the views of local elected members and third sector organisations we feel there needs to be urgent action taken to address impacts of the housing crisis on UoD students. Whilst the action that is truly needed is for the Scottish Government to restore the housing budget and to immediately introduce a system of rent controls across Scotland, we understand this is not an achievable goal.
Therefore, we are proposing DUSA consults students on introducing a points-based housing accreditation scheme for letting agents. Information would be gathered through a survey, open all year, and assessed over the summer months with results being made available to all students. Letting agents could be awarded either a bronze, silver, or gold accreditation (or no award at all) based on student’s experiences of renting with them. Each letting agent’s accreditation would be reviewed annually and could be upgraded if students share positive experiences but could also be downgraded or revoked if students share negative experiences.
We believe this is a practical response that can provided students with useful information to find good-quality accommodation as well as being an incentive for letting agents to improve their properties and provide consistent, good quality accommodation, fulfilling their roles as student housing providers.
Conclusion and Motion
The Student Representative Council (SRC) recognises the extreme challenges University of Dundee students currently face in relation to housing due to the decreasing availability of good-quality and affordable housing in the City of Dundee.
The SRC commends the consultation work due to begin in the coming weeks from DUSA and Dundee Labour Students to consult students on the introduction of a points-based housing accreditation scheme.
The SRC recognises the challenges that marginalised groups face when trying to secure housing and the general challenges of interacting with letting agents faced by all students who rent.
The SRC condemn cuts to the Scottish Government’s housing budget.
The SRC calls upon Dundee City Council and the Scottish Government to declare a housing emergency.
[1] Justin Bowie, “Dundee in Danger of Becoming ‘completely Unaffordable’ for Renters as Costs Soar,” The Courier, November 29, 2023, https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/politics/scottish-politics/4825692/dundee-in-danger-of-becoming-completely-unaffordable-for-renters-as-costs-soar/.
[2] Alasdair Clark, “Dundee University Accused of ‘bad Planning’ amid Fears of Student Housing Shortage,” The Courier, January 27, 2022, https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/dundee/2951259/dundee-university-ask-students-to-take-on-a-lodger/.
[3] Liam Rutherford, “Calls for Greater Clarity on Dundee Housing Stock amid ‘crisis’ Fears,” The Courier, February 21, 2024, https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/dundee/4899689/housing-crisis-in-dundee/.
[4] Stephanie Docherty and Vanessa Taaffe, “Why We Should Pay Attention after Glasgow, Edinburgh and Argyll and Bute Declare Housing Emergencies,” STV News, February 19, 2024, https://news.stv.tv/scotland/why-we-should-pay-attention-after-glasgow-edinburgh-and-argyll-and-bute-declare-housing-emergencies.
[5] Claire Warrender, “Fife Council Declares Housing Emergency amid Cut to Holyrood Affordable Homes Budget,” The Courier, March 21, 2024, https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/fife/4928152/fife-housing-emergency/.
[6] Paul Malik, “Lack of Properties Blamed as Average Dundee Rents Soar to £900,” The Courier, January 17, 2024, https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/business-environment/business/4868925/dundee-cost-of-rent-increases/.
[7] Tara Fitzpatrick, “St Andrews Students Forced to Live in Dundee Due to Housing Shortage,” STV News, September 27, 2022, https://news.stv.tv/scotland/students-at-university-of-st-andrews-face-acute-housing-shortage-with-some-forced-to-live-in-dundee.
[8] House of Commons Committee of Public Accounts, rep., Regulation of Private Renting (London: House of Commons Library, 2022), https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/9608/documents/163793/default/.
[9] Liam Rutherford, “Calls for Greater Clarity on Dundee Housing Stock amid ‘crisis’ Fears,” The Courier, February 21, 2024, https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/dundee/4899689/housing-crisis-in-dundee/.
[10] Carl Brown, “Rent Controls and Homelessness Duties Outlined in New Scottish Housing Bill,” Housing Today, March 27, 2024, https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/rent-controls-and-homelessness-duties-outlined-in-new-scottish-housing-bill/5128656.article.
[11] Paul McLennan MSP, “Scotland’s Housing Emergency – Amendment – Motion S6M-11351.1,” S6M-11351 | Scottish Parliament, November 20, 2023, https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/votes-and-motions/S6M-11351#:~:text=That%20the%20Parliament%20recognises%20that,homes%20by%202032%3B%20considers%20that.
[12] “Housing Crisis Set to Deepen Even Further as Scottish Budget Passed,” Scottish Housing News, February 28, 2024, https://www.scottishhousingnews.com/articles/housing-crisis-set-to-deepen-even-further-as-scottish-budget-passed#:~:text=With%20a%20cut%20of%2027.7,housing%20will%20be%20treated%20with.
[13] “Shelter Scotland Briefing: Reaction to Scottish Budget 2024/25,” Shelter Scotland, January 2024, https://scotland.shelter.org.uk/professional_resources/policy_library/shelter_scotland_briefing_reaction_to_scottish_budget_202425.