RECENTLY I gave my backing to NUS Scotland’s Living Rent campaign, which calls for private sector rents to be brought under control, greater protection from eviction and more security for tenants — urgent in a changed housing market leaving many people exploited and vulnerable.

The social rented sector has seen slow rates of building for many years, coupled with the long-discredited Right to Buy. Though that relic of Thatcherism has now been abolished, it has left a situation where social housing is simply unavailable for many who need it. At the same time house prices rose out of reach for many young people well before the 2008 crash. Though there was a slowdown since then, Scotland’s average house price now looks set to rise to £250,000 by the end of the decade.

All of this has driven the growth of private rented housing. The sector has doubled in a decade, and aims to double again in the years ahead. If this was simply a free choice, the case for regulation might not be so strong. But with social housing unavailable, and owner occupation unaffordable, many find renting simply the only option. Soon, private tenants will outnumber homeowners. Welcome to Generation Rent.

It’s no surprise sharp practice has become more common. In recent years the number of people becoming homeless from the private rented sector has risen steeply. Shelter Scotland says almost one fifth of homeless applications in 2013-14 came from that sector, a rise of 38 per cent in five years.

In areas of Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen, tenants are seeing annual rent increases way above inflation, while real incomes are falling. Many MSPs’ inboxes see complaints about fees and charges, such as for reference checks, credit checks and inventories, by landlords and letting agents who know quite clearly that they are breaking the law. John Finnie MSP rightly points out that it’s not only in cities — rural tenants are often being gouged for rent too, without their rights being respected.

Many tenants simply pay up and don’t complain. Knowing that they can be given a month’s notice to quit, without any good reason, leaves them in fear of losing their home. We need a much fairer deal for private tenants — one where you feel safe. Tenants are paying for a service; not just to maximise return on someone else’s investment.

If we regulated the sector better we could push out some of the worst elements, something good landlords and agencies should welcome. And we must explore measures to tackle rising rental costs.

In March the Scottish Government announced plans to reform private-sector tenancy laws. A consultation has taken place, and we await details of the proposed bill.

The consultation responses show a huge appetite for giving tenants greater protection. For example, allowing tenants to issue a notice to their landlord to end the tenancy at any time. This would prevent situations where tenants become trapped in unaffordable or unsafe tenancies.

The four-week notice period landlords can give tenants to leave a property is entirely inadequate, especially with no reasonable cause. Too often a tenant is kicked out simply in order to hike the rent level. While landlords have a right to expect that rents are paid, rent arrears arising simply because benefits or student support have been delayed should not result in homelessness.

A crucial demand of the Living Rent campaign is that tenants should be able to refer unfair rent levels to a tribunal, and that rents should be assessed on criteria such as size and quality, not just market rates.

To date Scottish Ministers have not embraced the idea of rent controls, but past experience shows constructive arguments can push them beyond their comfort zone. We need to drive home the impact rent costs have.

Housing law already in place in Scotland includes powers to regulate letting agents, and to tackle disrepair in the private rented sector. It places requirements on landlords to fit carbon monoxide detectors and carry out electrical safety checks. We need to see these powers being used to bring properties up to scratch to provide the decent homes our society deserves.

Increasing the supply of homes is of course vital too. Shelter reckons Scotland needs to build at least 10,000 affordable socially rented homes a year to tackle homelessness and long housing waiting lists. This will require a step-change from Ministers. In a fortnight’s time we’ll hear from the First Minister about the Programme for Government, and it is essential that ambitious plans for housing feature in that.