Rent Control Is Making Scotland's Housing Crisis Worse

Описание: Is rent control really helping Scotland’s housing crisis - or quietly making it worse?

In this episode of Hard Hat Talks, host Kenneth Martin (Block Architects) sits down with Chris Cockburn (Let-It) to unpack why focusing on price controls without protecting housing supply is reshaping Scotland’s rental market in unintended ways.

This is a grounded, practical conversation about how housing policy, investment behaviour, planning systems and regulation interact - and why the housing crisis is better understood as a supply problem shaped by policy, not simply an affordability issue.

If you’re an architect, developer, landlord, policymaker or anyone interested in housing outcomes - this episode will change how you look at the debate.

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✅ What You’ll Learn

Why rent controls can reduce housing supply rather than stabilise the market
How shrinking rental stock increases competition and pressure on tenants
Why small and long-term landlords are exiting the sector
How regulation, tax and uncertainty affect housing investment decisions
Why the private rented sector matters to workforce mobility and housing access
How planning and policy decisions ripple across the entire housing system

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⏱️ Podcast/Video Timeline

00:00 – Introduction: Why rent control is back in the spotlight
02:10 – Chris Cockburn’s background and Let-It’s role in the rental sector
05:15 – The core problem: Why price controls can shrink supply
09:40 – What happens when landlords leave the market
14:05 – How reduced supply increases competition and pressure on tenants
18:20 – Regulation, professionalisation and rising barriers to entry
22:45 – Planning delays, risk and investment confidence
27:30 – Why housing is a system problem, not a landlord vs tenant issue
32:10 – What policymakers need to understand about long-term impacts
36:00 – Final thoughts: How to rebalance supply, stability and fairness

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🎧 Listen & Subscribe

Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and YouTube.
Subscribe for more honest conversations on architecture, development, housing and the built environment.

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What do you think?

👍 Like this video if you believe housing policy should protect long-term supply.
💬 Comment below: What do you think is the biggest driver of rising rents today?
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