‘I had to move out after £300 rent increase’

People living in rented properties say they are being hit with dramatic increases now that Scotland’s rent cap has come to an end.

In a bid to address the cost of living crisis at the end of 2022, the Scottish government introduced temporary legislation which banned most rent increases and evictions.

This freeze was later changed to a 3% cap which ended in April.

That’s when Gilly Ramage and her flatmate were given notice that their rent would increase by £300 a month.

They had been paying £1,100 for a two-bedroom flat in Glasgow’s Southside but they were told the price would jump to £1,400.

Gilly, a 33-year-old admin worker, told BBC News what followed was the most stressful period of her life.

“It was torture,” she said.

“We were struggling to pay the rent anyway because our bills were £400 a month, so this extra £300 was just not doable.”

Unable to afford the hike, Gilly and her flatmate moved out in the hope of finding cheaper flats separately.

“I had no idea what the market was like,” Gilly said.

“I was pretty much applying for or trying to get a booking for every single flat I could find.

“Most of them didn’t even get back to me and the ones that did said there’s no more bookings available, and this was within an hour or two of the advert going up.”