THE Scottish Greens are set to force a vote on increasing taxes on holiday homes and short-term lets in Gaelic-speaking communities.
Co-leader Ross Greer is set to table an amendment to the Housing (Scotland) Bill in a bid to tackle the housing crisis in areas with a high number of Gaelic speakers.
If passed, the plans would allow ministers to levy an extra charge on those buying additional properties, including holiday homes, in areas such as Skye, where a boom has caused house prices to rocket.
It has also led to a lack of available homes for young people.
It comes after the Scottish Parliament passed the Scottish Languages Act, which allows communities where Gaelic is widely spoken to be designated an “Area of Linguistic Significance”.
The additional charge would apply in areas that have this designation.
“Gaelic is hugely important to our national culture and history, but it is on the edge of extinction as a community language and the housing crisis is a major reason why,” Greer said.
“We need to take bold action if we are to protect the language and the communities where it is still widely spoken.
“Young people and families are being forced out of many of these areas by soaring prices and a lack of available properties, often because wealthy people from elsewhere have bought those properties to use as second homes.
“One of the ways we can stop this is by making it that bit more expensive for the super-rich to buy up homes that will sit empty most of the year.”
Greer said the plans will help to “control rising prices” and give local residents a better chance of making a successful offer on properties.
“Talking about promoting Gaelic is one thing, but we can only do it if MSPs are willing to turn words into action and take on the wealthy buyers who are responsible for driving young people out of our rural communities,” he said.
“Every party in parliament agrees that the housing crisis is one of the biggest threats facing our last Gaelic-speaking communities. By backing these Green proposals, MSPs can begin to turn things around for one of Scotland’s native languages.”
The Housing Bill is set for a stage three debate, with several amendments lodged by MSPs ahead of the final vote.
The legislation contains plans for rent controls and further protections for tenants.
The Greens are also pushing for a vote on immediate rent controls that would provide support for private tenants before the legislation comes into force in 2027.
In 2022, a temporary rent freeze and cap was introduced, which ended in 2024. A temporary rent adjudication process was put in place, which stopped landlords from raising rents by more than 12%, if the tenant applied to a rent officer for adjudication.
However, the protections ended in 2025, and while tenants can still apply for adjudication, rent officers will rule based on market rates. The Greens say that since the change came in they, alongside tenants campaign group Living Rent, have documented cases of rent hikes that have gone far beyond affordability – in some cases 30%.
It comes after Housing Secretary Mairi McAllan pledged almost £5 billion over the next five years to build 36,000 affordable homes as part of an emergency action plan.
But campaigners have warned that rent cap exemptions undermine the whole plan.
McAllan has said that she would exempt mid-market and build-to-rent properties from plans to cap rents to “protect and promote investment”.
McAllan also committed to introducing Awaab’s law, named after Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old who died after exposure to mould in his Rochdale home in 2020. This will seek to ensure landlords promptly address issues that could be hazardous to tenants, and will come into effect in March 2026.
