New figures from lettings portal Citylets show rents adjusted for inflation have fallen in the majority of locations since the onset of the credit crunch in 2008.
This follows recent confirmations from Scottish government that rent controls for ‘pressure areas’ are on the current legislative programme.
Of all towns analysed, only the Fife town of Kirkcaldy saw rents for one and two-beds almost keep up with inflation, ending at 2.1% and 3.8% below CPI over the term.
Even key cities such as Edinburgh and Glasgow saw rents fall for one-bed properties in real terms down 0.9% and 10.4% respectively. In Aberdeen, both two and three-beds underperformed inflation with one-beds expected to follow shortly by the end of the year. Real rents in Dundee are down across the board.
Where rents have risen, Citylets found that for the key two-bed markets in Edinburgh and Glasgow, the rises ranged from just 1.45% to 3.8%.
Citylets founder Thomas Ashdown said: “I think these figures conclusively confirm what the Scottish government has already noted, that rents are not out of control in this country. They are, on the whole, falling in real terms and it is simply not credible for any party to contend otherwise- that time has surely passed.
“As far as we can see, it is only the two-bed markets in Edinburgh and Glasgow that have risen above inflation over the last eight years with just three postcodes recording double digit growth- EH1, EH9 and G12.
“I wonder what difference some large scale, purpose built residential developments would make in these areas.”