Scottish Renters Soar In Numbers

The Scottish are becoming a nation of renters says the 2016 Scottish Household Survey, which also showed the overall number of homes in Scotland increased from 2.19 million in 1999 to 2.45 million last year - a rise of 11 per cent.

But over the same period, the number of homeowners has slumped and social housing is at a record low.

This has led to more than 370,000 Scots now privately renting - and are being charged record amounts The average monthly rent for a Scottish tenant in July 2017 averaged £630, up from £607 last year and is at the highest ever level.

According to the survey, the percentage of households who rent privately has grown from 5 per cent in 1999 to 15per cent last year.

Two-fifths of people who are not already on the property ladder think they will never get a foot on the first rung, largely because of the decline in house building and tougher mortgage rules.

Soaring house prices are an added problem, with the average deposit required by purchases is £21,000.

When Holyrood was launched in 1999, just 120,000 Scots lived in private rented accommodation and the figure has more than trebled since and risen by 20,000 in the past year alone.

It comes amid soaring house prices and tough new rules on mortgage lending which has left many young Scotland’s struggling to get out of the rented sector to buy their own homes.