Concern at problems with Buy to Rent Houses - Robert Brown

12.00.00am GMT Tue 16th Mar 2010

Glasgow Liberal Democrat MSP Robert Brown has drawn attention to the growing problems in many areas with buy to rent flats.

The MSP said that buy to rent was an increasingly common phenomenon, particularly during the economic downturn, and was often leading to a number of problems with badly-managed properties by owners or managers with little interest in the local area.

Robert Brown was speaking during a debate in the Scottish Parliament.

Robert Brown said:

"Many buy-to-rent flats are put into the hands of letting and management agents. The quality of many letting and management agents leaves a good bit to be desired and their management skills are often well below par. The consequence of that and of uncaring landlords and tenants who do not live up their responsibilities can be severe decline in the quality of an area. This decline is a feature of some new-build flats in Rutherglen and Cambuslang, and a growing problem in areas like Croftfoot, Govanhill, or the new Gorbals development at Crown Street. The problem will undoubtedly get worse.

There is a need for a comprehensive review of the interlocked issues that affect residents in multi-ownership buildings, whether traditional tenements or new-build blocks. The issues include residents who do not look after their properties and annoy their neighbours, inadequate factoring and maintenance arrangements, absentee or incompetent landlords, and bad management agents."

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