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To: Nicola Sturgeon

Mortgage Accessibility for Private Renters

I propose changes in the laws that control mortgage borrowing and accessibility including the following:
1) Payment of private rent being used as reference to affordability. I suggest a history of 3 years be taken into account, if a person has successfully paid their private landlord for 3 years, this shows stability and affordability. This person can and has afforded their rental property so they should be able to use this as a reference to be granted a mortgage.
2) Smaller deposits when borrowing. A maximum of 5% deposit needed, with 1% deposits as an option in order to provide accessibility to all. As peoples homes are in danger of being taken off them I believe the banks investments are safe from the get go, as any non payment results in the home being taken as payment - people don't want to risk this.
3) Poor credit score mortgages allowed more commonly. Especially after the pandemic I don't believe credit score to be an accurate representation of someone's reliability or credibility. People need homes, they need somewhere to sleep and be safe. A mortgage is the most likely expense to be paid by someone as it provides that, even if they are on a low income.

The problem I see is that private renting is so expensive and cost of living so high, that people cannot afford to save anything at all from their pay checks in order to build up a deposit large enough. This is then met with credit checks which often are not a true representation of the person.
Logically it also makes sense that if a person can afford a £700 private renters bill every month in order to supply a home for their family then they can and will be able to afford a £500 mortgage payment every month. In fact, if mortgages were made more accessible I guarantee people would be willing to pay the same as a private rent (more money each month) as they would be buying their own home, which would mean banks would actually get their money back faster, so less risk.

I believe with the cost of living so high, that even skilled workers are unable to become homeowners, which is unacceptable. We are making the rich richer and the poor poorer, which makes a whole generation of depressed workers and society of forgotten children.
It's been scientifically proven that stress and anxiety from parents affects the mental health of children, and the biggest cause of stress being income and homelessness. By tackling the impossible mortgage availability, then we could destress an entire generation, and prevent a future and ongoing mental health crisis.

Why is this important?

This issue affects everyone. Everyone that is renting a home but doesn't want to. Everyone who is struggling daily, weekly and monthly to get by. Everyone with 2/3/4 jobs just to make ends meet.
The people in power don't see this issue because they are not living paycheck to paycheck. They don't understand the stress of paying rent every month for years on end and having nothing to show for it at the end of the day. Or the stress of never feeling secure in your home incase your landlord sells from under you.

It's looking after the rich and exploiting the poor, and nowadays, everyone is poor.

How it will be delivered

For a petition to be considered by the petition committee of the Scottish Parliament it must first be shown to a MSP.

Once we have gained as many signatures as possible I will take this to our local Councillor to be advanced forward.

Category

Updates

2022-05-16 16:39:58 +0100

25 signatures reached

2022-05-15 23:43:52 +0100

10 signatures reached