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Is your Tayside and Fife politician a landlord?

Dozens of Holyrood MSPs are landlords. Image: PA

An emergency law was passed in Holyrood before Christmas to impose a rent freeze which is expected to last until March.

The policy means most landlords won’t be able to increase how much they charge tenants to live in their homes due to the cost-of-living crisis.

Across Scotland, dozens of MPs and MSPs from all sides of the political divide own and rent out properties for extra income.

That includes one Dundee SNP MP, Chris Law, who remarkably owns a castle near the city.

Campaign group Living Rent say landlords struggle to act for the benefit of tenants because they profit from letting out homes.

So what does the official register of interest say about your politicians’ own status?

Here’s a list of the politicians representing Tayside and Fife at Holyrood and Westminster who appear in parliamentary registers of interest for property.


Annabelle Ewing MSP

SNP Annabelle Ewing
Annabelle Ewing MSP.

SNP veteran Annabelle Ewing owns a flat in Edinburgh, which is believed to be worth between £200,000 and £250,000.

The Cowdenbeath MSP earns up to £15,000 a year from this, according to official registers.

Murdo Fraser MSP

Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife.
Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife.

Perthshire Tory Murdo Fraser rents out multiple flats in Edinburgh.

He has a half-share on one property worth up to £150,000 and receives around £5,000 per year from it.

Another flat owned by Mr Fraser in the capital has an estimated value of up to £400,000 and earns him at least £10,000 per annum.

The Tory MSP, who represents Mid Scotland and Fife, previously used this rental property as a personal home between 2003 and 2010.

A Conservative spokesperson said: “All of our MSPs who own property register their holdings in their register of interests and they can be found there.”

Liam Kerr MSP

Tory MSP Liam Kerr.
Tory MSP Liam Kerr.

North East regional Tory Liam Kerr rents out a flat in Edinburgh which has a market value of up to £200,000.

He earns between £5,000 and £10,000 from this a year.

Chris Law MP

Chris Law, MP for Dundee West

Dundee West MP Chris Law lets out two flats for additional income, one in the city and another in Aberdeen.

The SNP politician’s rental property portfolio is worth more than £100,000 and nets him at least £10,000 on top of his Westminster salary every year.

But Mr Law is more well-known for his sensational purchase of a castle, which had a value of over £600,000 when he bought it.

The Dundee MP vowed to turn his estate, near Kirriemuir, Angus, into a centre for disabled kids, but years later this has not come to fruition.

We asked for an update on that promise.

An SNP spokesperson said: “As members of the society in which they live and the communities they serve, MSPs and MPs are constantly called on to make decisions regarding the laws that govern many aspects of how we live.

“As a safeguard, they declare all financial interests – including property and land ownership – in registers of interests to provide transparency on anything which could be perceived as influencing their votes, words or actions.”

Claire Baker MSP

Claire Baker, Labour MSP
Claire Baker at a previous Labour conference. Image: Kris Miller/DC Thomson.

Scottish Labour’s Claire Baker – who represents the Mid Scotland and Fife region – owns a flat in Aberdeen with her husband.

The property is valued at more than £100,000 and brings in up to £5,000 per year.

A Labour spokesperson said: “All Scottish Labour MSPs are required to properly declare relevant interests and uphold the highest standards of transparency.

“Scottish Labour has led the way fighting for a fair deal for tenants in Scotland, delivering an emergency rent freeze and fighting for long-term rent caps.”

John Nicolson MP

John Nicolson MP.
John Nicolson MP.

SNP politician John Nicolson owns a flat in London which he lets out for additional income.

He represents Ochil and South Perthshire.

The MP’s property is valued at over £100,000 and he earns more than £10,000 per annum from it.

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