Emma Roddick's amendment to the Housing (Scotland) Bill - passed unanimously by Parliament - "will provide vital data for the Highlands and Islands". An amendment to the Housing (Scotland) Bill, lodged by Highlands and Islands MSP Emma Roddick, has passed unanimously in the Scottish Parliament. The amendment gives Scottish Ministers the power to require landlords [...]

Highlands and Islands MSP Emma Roddick has lodged a written question to the Scottish Government after she was removed from the list of speakers for today’s statement on the Housing Emergency. The question was submitted after reports emerged that the rent adjudication system, set up to provide a fair process for both landlords and tenants, [...]

The Highlands and Islands is a place which constantly punches above its weight, leading in renewable energy, agriculture, and landscapes that inspire our local artists as well as those who are part of the seemingly exponential growth of visitors every year.  But increasingly, we are also constantly fighting the symptoms of depopulation. Growing up here, [...]

Emma Roddick MSP has condemned the UK Labour Government for continuing to inflict Westminster’s austerity agenda on Scottish families, as new figures revealed that the SNP Scottish Government was forced to spend £245,337 in Shetland last year mitigating harmful Labour welfare policies, including the widely hated Bedroom Tax, through Discretionary Housing Payments. New figures have [...]

Housing is a human right. Let's tackle the housing crisis. Housing. It's a human right, right?  This leftie thinks so. A basic human right - not that there is much basic about it. It’s a fundamental need that often dictates our life trajectory: employment, education, starting a family, access to community and support, health, and [...]

Highlands and Islands MSP Emma Roddick has welcomed new statistics which show the number of second homes and long-term empty properties has fallen across Scotland following the introduction of new measures to curb their growth. Scottish Government figures released this week show that the total number of second homes and properties that have been empty [...]

SNP MSP Emma Roddick has pointed to the consensus between landlords and tenants, as well as organisations representing them, on the need for stronger data to guide decisions on housing policy, particularly in relation to rent prices. Ms Roddick is seeking to bring forward amendments to the Scottish Government’s Housing Bill to strengthen data collection. [...]

Highlands and Islands MSP Emma Roddick has platformed the concerns of young islanders across Scotland in Holyrood, pressing the Scottish Government on the urgent need for more affordable housing available in all communities. During a parliamentary question to Housing Minister, Paul McLennan, Ms Roddick highlighted a recent report from the Young Islanders Network, which revealed [...]

SNP MSP Emma Roddick has suggested Scotland could follow Spain in taking radical measures to tackle the housing crisis. Spain's Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, announced plans this week to prioritise available homes for residents by imposing a tax of up to 100% on properties bought by non-residents in countries outside the EU. In a meeting [...]

Contributing to yesterday's Stage 1 Debate on the Housing (Scotland) Bill, MSP for the Highlands and Islands Emma Roddick championed the progress already made on the bill by the Scottish Government, and renewed her commitment to strengthening its measures, such as rent controls. Calling the data on those in rent-induced poverty 'terrifying', she highlighted that [...]